Man Sought in Attempted Rape of Maid

Police said Saturday that they were looking for a man who tried to rape a motel maid but came off second-best in the confrontation.

The maid, described by acquaintances as small, bit the man’s bottom lip and part of his goatee off, left bite marks over his upper body and scratches across his face, police said. Hospital emergency rooms throughout Southern California have been put on alert, but so far the suspect has not appeared, police said.

“She’s fine. She wasn’t hurt at all,” said a fellow employee at the motel on Manchester Avenue. “She acted very bravely, and we’re very proud of her.”

The maid, however, remains upset by the Monday morning attack and is no longer working alone, an employee said.

According to police, the woman, 24, was working in a room about 11 a.m. when a man entered. Police described him as 30 to 35 years old, 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing about 160 pounds.

He attacked her but she fought back, savaging her assailant, police said. “He must have thought he’d gotten in a cave with a tiger,” one officer said.