‘Flasher’ Sought in Attempted Rapes

Law enforcement officials are looking for a man they say is exposing himself and attacking women as they work at night in Ventura Boulevard businesses.

The man has been tied to at least two attempted rapes and as many as seven incidents of indecent exposure, including once instance in which he exposed himself to a woman who locked herself in her car after freeing herself from his grasp, said Officer Jason Lee of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The attacks have occurred between 9 p.m. and midnight, primarily on the Ventura Boulevard corridor between Corbin and Woodlake avenues, Lee said.

Police said the nine incidents occurred in July and August inside and around businesses on the boulevard or in adjacent parking lots.

According to police, the man is white, between 25 and 35 years, with brown or dark blond hair, possibly curly. He is clean-shaven and between 5-feet-8 and 6 feet tall. He weighs between 160 and 200 pounds, wears shorts or sweat pants and white tennis shoes.

Lee said the man also wears a stocking cap or mask or pulls a T-shirt or women’s blouse over his head to disguise himself.

Authorities are warning women to be careful when entering or leaving businesses in the evening.

“It is important that females together, or alone, exercise great care,” Lee said.