Suspect in Early Morning Sexual Assault Arrested

Authorities arrested a 23-year-old Simi Valley man on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 60-year-old woman in her apartment Friday morning.

Soum J. Laykham was booked into the east county jail Friday evening in lieu of $100,000 bail on suspicion of assault with attempted rape and burglary.

Police say a man entered the victim’s second-floor apartment through an unlocked door just before 4 a.m. at the complex, located at the corner of 1st Street and Ashland Avenue in Simi Valley.

The attacker did not appear to have a weapon, and the woman suffered minor cuts and bruises, police said. She was taken to Simi Valley Hospital. Police used a canine unit to track the attacker’s scent and arrested the suspect just after noon Friday.

Authorities do not believe the attack is connected to a series of rapes that began in 1996. Police say one person is responsible for 12 attacks in the city. The most recent occurred in August.

The suspect in the serial rapes usually attacks women in their teens and early 20s and focuses on houses, not apartments, said Sgt. Bob Gardner of the Simi Valley Police Department.

Gardner urged all Simi Valley residents to lock their doors and windows at night, even when it’s warm outside.

“Simi Valley is a safe city,” Gardner said. “But sometimes a problem with that is that people expect it to be safe. And in expecting it to be safe, they’re not as careful as they should be.”