Woman, Daughter Raped in Home Robbery

Police on Tuesday were looking for three men who committed a brutal home-invasion robbery during which they raped a woman and her daughter in the same room where other family members were tied up.

Investigators said the attack in the 14100 block of Brookhurst Street was not reported until 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, after one of the family members decided to defy the robbers’ warnings not to call police.

“The victims were reluctant to give us the report because they were traumatized by the robbery and sexual assault,” Lt. Chuck Gibbs said.

The attack occurred between 9 and 10 p.m. Monday after three men, one of them armed with a handgun, knocked on the front door of the family’s home, Gibbs said. When a family member opened the door, the three men pushed their way into the home, forcing the five residents into a bedroom, Gibbs said.

All of the family members except a 4-year-old girl were tied with electrical cord and covered with blankets, police said.

The attackers then began ransacking the home, stealing about $5,300 worth of jewelry, a videocassette recorder, a rifle and credit cards, Gibbs said.

During the robbery, which lasted between 30 and 45 minutes, a woman in her late 30s and her 14-year-old daughter were sexually assaulted in the bedroom, Gibbs said.

After police were called Tuesday, the two were taken to a hospital for examination, but were not hospitalized, Gibbs said. None of the other family members were injured.

Police said they do not know if the robbers left in a car or on foot.

Gibbs said investigators had few leads on the identity of the robbers.

The robber with the gun was described as being white, between 17 and 20 years old, 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds. The other two were described only as young Vietnamese men, Gibbs said.

Home-invasion robberies typically are committed by Asian gang members against other Asians, police say.