Man allegedly attacks woman in movie theater bathroom stall

A Moorpark man has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman in a movie theater bathroom stall, authorities said.

Investigators had been searching for Hector Garcia, 18, after the May 23 incident and were finally able to track him down Tuesday at a landscaping job in Westlake Village, said Ventura County Senior Sheriff’s Deputy Tim Lohman.

Sheriff’s officials said Garcia attacked the moviegoer inside a bathroom at the Muvico Theaters in Thousand Oaks.

She was inside a bathroom stall, when he suddenly slid under it and sexually assaulted her, Lohman said.

After allegedly attacking the woman, Garcia ran out of the bathroom and fled the theater, Lohman said. The woman, though, remained inside the bathroom stall because she feared he was still lurking around, Lohman added.

“It’s nothing somebody would expect,” Lohman said. “It’s a feeling of helplessness.”

Investigators were able identify to Garcia as the woman’s alleged attacker after talking to witnesses and reviewing surveillance video from the theater, he added.

Garcia’s bail was set at $250,000.

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