Arrests Made After Sexual Assaults

A pregnant woman and an elderly woman were beaten and sexually assaulted early Monday in attacks in Canoga Park and West Hills, police said.

About 3 a.m., a 36-year-old pregnant woman walking home from the Chevron gas station on Sherman Way and Canoga Avenue was approached by two men who demanded money, said Los Angeles Police Detective Bob Howe of the West Valley station. When she refused, one man grabbed her and forced her onto the sidewalk near Alabama Street and the other man attacked her, Howe said.

A passing motorist, Ramy Iskander, 20, of Reseda, witnessed the incident and stopped to help the woman, Howe said. The two men ran off and Iskander took the woman, who was three months pregnant, to the West Valley police station, Howe said. Her attackers were arrested nearby and identified by the victim, police said.

Leonardo Carisosa Mendez, 28, and Jose Nunez Costilla, 19, both of Canoga Park, were booked on suspicion of attempted rape and robbery and held in lieu of $100,000 each, Howe said.

The woman was taken to West Hills Regional Medical Center, where she was treated and released, police said.

An hour and a half later, an 87-year-old woman was raped in her home in the 6600 block of Berquist Avenue in West Hills, police said.

The woman’s daughter was awakened by noise coming from her mother’s bedroom, Howe said. Police said the daughter allegedly saw a man attacking her mother and fled next door to ask neighbors to call police. The neighbors entered the house and allegedly witnessed the assault, but did not intervene for fear that the man was armed, police said. The three neighbors stood guard outside the house until police arrived, Howe said.

Christopher Donald Wilson, 36, of West Hills, was booked on suspicion of rape and held in lieu of $185,000, Howe said.

The woman was taken to West Hills Regional Medical Center, where she was treated and released, police said.