Knife-Wielding Man Abducts and Rapes 76-Year-Old Woman

A man armed with a knife abducted a 76-year-old woman Sunday night as she walked home from church in the North Hollywood area and raped her, Los Angeles police said Monday.

The assailant first approached the woman on her way to church when he asked her for directions, then accosted her as she was walking home and dragged her at knifepoint into a white four-door minivan in the 13000 block of Sherman Way, said LAPD spokesman Jack Richter.

“It’s outrageous, and a threat to everyone’s safety when someone so vulnerable is attacked,” Richter said. “This is a high-priority case.”

The assailant drove the woman to an undisclosed location and raped her, police said. Her attacker then returned the woman to the area where she was abducted. The victim, who was disoriented, walked home, where relatives alerted authorities. She was treated at Northridge Hospital Medical Center’s Sherman Way Campus and held overnight, police said.