Police searching for man who sexually assaulted 13-year-old boy at Boyle Heights church
Authorities are looking for a man who attacked a 13-year-old boy at a Boyle Heights church, sexually assaulting him before leaving him unconscious in a secluded stairwell.
On the afternoon of March 17, the boy went to use the restroom after an event he attended at the church, near the 1700 block of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue, with his family, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The man approached and punched the boy in the face, knocking him to the ground before dragging him from the restroom toward a storage room. The boy lost consciousness as the suspect tried to rip off his shirt.
The boy was later found unconscious in a stairwell. .
“We just know this young, innocent kid was assaulted,” said LAPD Officer Tony Im, a spokesman for the department.
Surveillance footage at the church did not capture the suspect, Im said. But he was described by the boy as a bald black man with a beard and light-colored eyes. He wore a yellow long-sleeve T-shirt, light blue jeans with designer tears and red Timberland boots with light tan colored soles.
Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call Det. Sandra Lopez at (323) 342-8997.
alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com
Twitter: @AleneTchek
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