Witnesses Sought in Kidnap, Rape of Blind Woman

Los Angeles police are looking for witnesses to the abduction of a young blind woman, who was later raped, from a bus stop in Van Nuys.

“Basically, we have nothing to go on,” Detective George Salazar said. Because the victim is blind, she could provide few details about her abductor’s appearance.

Salazar said Friday that the 19-year-old victim was abducted while waiting for a bus at the corner of Woodley Avenue and Victory Boulevard about 4 p.m. Monday. The woman was sitting on a bench when a man sat next to her and began petting her guide dog, Salazar said the woman told investigators.

Forced Into Vehicle

The man then stood up, walked around the bench and grabbed the woman from behind, she told police. After a struggle, the man twisted her arm and forced her to a nearby vehicle, probably a van, she said. The woman does not know how far she walked to the vehicle, but does remember the sound of its sliding door, the detective said.

Once inside the vehicle, the man struck her on the side of the head with a club and raped her, Salazar said. The man then left the vehicle and the woman escaped, the detective said.

“Whether he actually allowed her to leave, I don’t know,” Salazar said.

After she escaped, the woman called her guide dog, which came running and led her back to the corner of Woodley and Van Nuys, Salazar said. The dog did not defend her earlier, he said, because guide dogs are trained not to attack.

“She suspects the dog either stayed at the bus bench or strayed away. She doesn’t know,” he said. The woman eventually took a bus home and, after calling a friend, contacted police, Salazar said.

Police are searching for witnesses, since the woman said she remembers hearing cars pass as the man forced her from the bench.

“There had to be a lot of cars going by there,” Salazar said.

“We don’t have much to go on unless someone comes in and helps us.”