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Ex-Con Found Guilty In 2003 Assault On Cheerleader In Redondo High School Restroom

REDONDO BEACH (CBS) — A Long Beach man faced several years in federal penitentiary on Thursday after he was found guilty for sexually assaulting a cheerleader in a South Bay high school bathroom eight years ago.

KNX 1070's Brian Ping reports the jury took less than an hour to convict 46-year-old Sylvester Rawls.

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Authorities said Rawls hid in a girls' restroom stall at Redondo Beach Union High School in August 2003.

When the 17-year-old victim entered the stall next to him, Rawls forced his inside and made the girl perform oral sex on him at knifepoint, according to police.

His DNA was recovered from the toilet and eventually matched to a sample he submitted after his conviction last year in a separate federal drug case.

Rawls faces at least 15 years to life in prison at a sentencing hearing in March.

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