A 35-year-old man wanted for the sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in Culver City was arrested in Santa Clarita by the Culver City Police Department with assistance from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on Thursday, according to Culver City police.
Culver City authorities were first notified of the crime on Dec. 2 at approximately 7:46 a.m., when they were informed of a sexual assault in the Blair Hills community of Culver City. Investigators then learned that a man had entered a residence, sexually assaulted a minor, and fled the scene on foot. A search for the suspect was launched, but he was not immediately located.
Using DNA evidence, the suspect was identified as 35-year-old Marcos Maldonado on Wednesday and he was discovered to be living in a downtown Los Angeles hotel, according to a Culver City police news release.
The LASD was notified of Maldonado leaving his hotel and boarding a bus traveling on Interstate 5 toward Bakersfield. The bus was pulled over in Santa Clarita, where Maldonado was arrested on suspicion of aggravated sexual assault of a child. He was held in lieu of $1.25 million bail with his arraignment planned for Monday.
The Culver City police investigation was also aided by the UCLA Santa Monica Rape Treatment Center and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
No additional information is available as of the time of this publication.
