Search continues for Orange County sex-assault convict

Authorities continued today to search for a Garden Grove hospital blood technician who escaped from court just before being convicted of sexually assaulting six women in a maternity ward.

Dante Arnaud, 41, of Santa Ana, was convicted Thursday of posing as a doctor to assault the women, according to a statement from the Orange County district attorney’s office.

He had been out on $250,000 bail, but the trial judge had ordered Arnaud to stay in the courthouse as the jury deliberated. Instead, Arnaud fled just before the jury reached a guilty verdict at 2:05 p.m., prosecutors said.

Arnaud wore a lab coat during his crimes, authorities said. Seven women originally came forward, but one of them was out of the country and unable to testify, prosecutors said.

 hector.becerra@latimes.com