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Sexual Predator Allegedly Breaking Into Maywood Homes To Grope Women

MAYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — Police asked for the public's help in finding a sexual predator breaking into houses and groping female residents inside their own homes.

Investigators say each break-in happened within a two-week span, involving a similar suspect description, mode of operation and within blocks of each other.

The first break-in happened about 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 5 in the 6100 block of King Avenue. The victim was sitting in her living room, when the burglar emerged from her bathroom hallway, approached her and grabbed her breasts, a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. She fought him off by pushing him away and forcing him out of the house.

The second break-in happened at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday at an apartment in the 4300 block of 53rd Street, about a mile from the first crime. The burglar snuck into the apartment while the residents were asleep in their bed.

A man sleeping in the apartment was awakened by the sound of a door opening and saw a dark silhouette and the light from a cell phone. He yelled, and the burglar ran and jumped out of an apartment window, authorities said.

Ninety minutes later, a break-in at a home in the 4100 block of 53rd Street woke up a woman who had been asleep. She sensed someone "touching an intimate body part" and realized it was an intruder, according to the sheriff's department. She ran, locked herself in a bedroom and called 911. Responding deputies could not find the burglar.

On Wednesday about 4:30 a.m., the suspect entered a home in the 3600 block of 53rd Street and covered the mouth of a girl sleeping in her bed. She yelled for help, and her father came to her aid.

"The father confronted the suspect and punched him before losing balance and falling to the floor," the sheriff's statement said. "This allowed the suspect to run out through the front door and flee the scene."

Investigators believe the crimes were committed by the same suspect, described as a Hispanic man in his 20s, between 5 feet 2 and 5 feet 5 inches tall, with a thin build and wearing dark clothing.

Anyone with information on the crimes can call detectives at (323) 264-4151, or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.

(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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