News In Brief : New Rape Charges Filed
A man arrested in connection with 11 rapes and attempted rapes has been charged with sexual assaults on 14 girls.
Somesha Shinda, 35, of Los Angeles, was charged with 27 felony counts of attempted kidnaping, kidnaping, forcible child molestation, sodomy, rape and attempted robbery.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Kathleen Kennedy-Powell said Shinda approached his victims, ages 6 to 16, pretending to be a jogger. He then brandished a toy gun, threatened the girls and walked them to a backyard or a field, where he sexually assaulted them.
The assaults occurred in Lennox, Inglewood and South-Central Los Angeles from last September until last Thursday, when Shinda was arrested hours after a 13-year-old girl was attacked.
Shinda, also known as John Coleman, is in custody in lieu of $100,000 bail.
He pleaded not guilty to eight counts Monday, but 19 additional charges were filed against him Tuesday.
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