A suspect charged in the sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in her family's Culver City home is accused of telling the girl her family would be killed if she told anyone about the attack, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Marcos Maldonado, 35, allegedly told the girl during the Dec. 2 assault in the Blair Hills neighborhood that someone with a gun was waiting outside her home, and that person would kill her family if she reported the attack, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in announcing the charges Tuesday.
Maldonado faces multiple charges of forcible sexual assault against a child, prosecutors said.
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Officers responded to the neighborhood at about 7:45 a.m. that day after receiving a report that the girl had been sexually assaulted in her bedroom. The assault happened sometime between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., hours before the attacker, seen on security camera video, left the scene at 7 a.m., Culver City police said. The intruder entered through an unlocked sliding door, police said Tuesday.
"To prevent the victim from reporting him, he allegedly told her that his friend was outside with a gun, and that he would kill her family if she told anyone," Gascón said.
There was no evidence of anyone with a gun outside the residence.
The parents of the 12-year-old girl said they woke up that morning to pleas from their daughter to call the police.
Maldonado was arrested Jan. 5 on the 5 Freeway after leaving a hotel and boarding a bus headed to Bakersfield. The bus was pulled over in the Santa Clarita area, where the suspect surrendered and was taken into custody.
Maldonado had been living in a downtown Los Angeles hotel.
Authorities said DNA evidence found at the scene of the crime led to the arrest. There is no evidence to suggest the suspect knew the victim, police said.
"While we have no reports of additional crimes of this nature in the Culver City area, we are collaborating with other law enforcement agencies to identify any additional victims," Culver City police said in a news release.
Police released the security camera image in an effort to identify the man.
Anyone with information regarding the crime was asked to call 310-253-6302. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can email tips at tips@culvercity.org.
