Man Held in Abduction, Rape of Schoolgirls in South-Central Los Angeles : Crime: Amid furor over police beating, Gates says the arrest is an example of how authorities and community can work together.

Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates announced the arrest Friday of a 23-year-old man suspected of kidnaping and raping schoolgirls in South-Central Los Angeles--a series of crimes that sparked fear and outrage throughout the community.

Kevin Shovor Samuel was arrested about 7:30 a.m. after a parent who was driving a child to school saw someone matching the suspect’s description near Martin Luther King Elementary School, Gates said. Samuel was booked on charges stemming from the abduction, rape and attempted rape of five girls within a six-week period.

Charges are expected to be formally filed early next week, Gates said.

At an afternoon news conference, held amid a furor over police officers’ videotaped beating of a black Altadena man, Gates said Samuel’s arrest is an example of how important it is for police and the community to work together to solve crime.

“With what we’ve been experiencing, we’ve been concerned about relationships with the people we serve,” Gates said, referring to the controversy over the beating of Rodney G. King.

“Here is an example of a concerned black parent going to two white officers,” Gates said. “And as a result we have a kidnap-rapist in jail and the kids are safe.”

Several African-American community and religious groups have called for Gates to resign in the wake of King’s beating, saying that it is part of a pattern of abuse waged by the department against African-Americans.

Gates added that many of the people who attacked the department for the beating also had accused the Police Department of not making a priority of solving the girls’ abductions.

“We devoted a tremendous amount of resources to this (case),” Gates said. “This is a very caring department and I think this is an example of that.”

The arrest, he said, “could not have come at a better time.”

The series of abductions and rapes began Jan. 25. Five girls between the ages of 9 and 14 were abducted, and three were raped by a man who accosted them as they were walking to school, then drove a short distance away to sexually abuse them.

A composite drawing of the suspect was broadcast on television and circulated throughout the community.

Gates said some of the victims on Friday positively identified Samuels as their abductor. Police have also recovered other evidence linking him to the crime, he said.