BURBANK : Man Arrested in Rape of Girl, 12
A Burbank man was arrested on suspicion of raping a 12-year-old girl who he met on the street and dragged into his apartment, authorities said.
Robert Scott Diaz, 24, was booked Tuesday on suspicion of performing a lewd act with a child under age 14, said Burbank Police Lt. Larry Koch.
Diaz allegedly met the girl on the street near his home in the 200 block of Santa Anita Avenue about 7 p.m. Monday and persuaded her to walk to a nearby store with him, Koch said.
After the trip, he invited her inside his apartment, and when she refused, Diaz allegedly dragged her inside, Koch said.
Diaz then allegedly raped and sodomized the juvenile and forced her to remain at the apartment overnight, Koch said. The following day, when he left the room, the girl fled the apartment and ran to a friend’s house, Koch said.
Police were contacted by the girl’s brother, who told police she had not returned home. Patrol officers contacted the girl at a friend’s home, and she reported the incident, Koch said.
Diaz was arrested at his apartment about 4 p.m., Koch said.
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