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LASD Arrests Supsect For Alleged Sexual Assault Of Juvenile In Restroom At Lakewood High And For Alleged Sexual Assault Less Than Three Hours Earlier Of 29 Yr Old Woman In Bellflower; VIDEO Of LASD Press Conference


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(Sept. 2, 2018, 11:40 a.m., updated at 3:30 p.m.) -- Personnel from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept. Lakewood Station have arrested a suspect in connection with an alleged sexual assault of a female juvenile in a restroom at Lakewood High School, and for an alleged sexual assault roughly two and a half hours earlier of a 29 year old woman in Bellflower. VIDEO of an LASD press conference follows LASD's release text below:

On Saturday, September 1, 2018, at approximately 3:40 p.m., in the city of Bellflower, Lakewood Station Deputies arrested a suspect who was wanted in two separate sexual assault cases.

Detectives from Special Victims Bureau are actively investigating both sexual assaults. The first incident occurred Friday, August 31, 2018, at approximately 10:00 am, on the 9200 block of Palm Street in the city of Bellflower. A 29 year-old female was walking home when the suspect approached her from behind. The suspect [allegedly] attacked the victim, sexually assaulted her, and took the victim's cell phone before fleeing the scene.

The second incident took place at Lakewood High School on Friday, August 31, 2018, at approximately 12:30 pm. The female juvenile victim was using the restroom when she was [allegedly] sexually assaulted by the suspect. The suspect fled the scene when a school employee entered the bathroom.

Suspect Joshua Cooper, male Black 19 years-old, was booked at Lakewood Station for Assault with Intent to Commit Rape, Robbery, and Attempt Rape. His bail is currently set at $220,000 and scheduled for court on Wednesday, September 5, 2018 in the Bellflower Courthouse.




LASD asks anyone with information about this incident to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Special Victims Bureau toll free tip line at (877) 710-5273 or by email at specialvictimsbureau@lasd.org. If you prefer to provide information anonymously, you may call "Crime Stoppers" by dialing (800) 222-TIPS (8477), or use your smartphone by downloading the “P3 Tips” Mobile APP or “P3 Mobile” for the hearing impaired on Google play or the App Store, or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department - Special Victims Bureau is tasked with investigating the sexual and physical abuse of children and felonious sexual assaults involving adult victims. Anyone with information about this crime is requested to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department - Special Victims Bureau at (877) 710-LASD (5273).

[UPDATE 3:30 p.m.] During 1 p.m. news conference at LASD HQ in downtown L.A., LASD Special Victims Bureau Captain Carlos Marquez said the suspect scaled a fence to gain entry to Lakewood High School. He said that at this point there's no indication the suspect was a gang member or had some relationship to the school.

LASD Lakewood Station Captain Richard Harpham credited Lakewood Station patrol personnel for spotting the suspect (using security cam images from location(s) not disclosed.) Capt. Harpham noted that he coached football for about seven years at Lakewood High, said most of the school's fences are 10 feet high and it's a secure campus but "there's never a guarantee of 100% security...and they do a very good job there at the school."

Capt. Marquez indicated that the suspect is a Bellflower resident and said one reason LASD isn't releasing releasing the suspect's photo is because "we want to do follow-up investigations [and] release of his photo could jeopardize somebody else saying 'that's the person who attacked me' without them independently being able to identify him, so we are looking for anybody else who can provide any information about this individual."

Although Lakewood High is within the City of Lakewood, its student body includes many Long Beach students as the school is part of the Long Beach Unified School District (operated by LBUSD staff/management, governed by the LBUSD School Board.)

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If the Council doesn't enact a budget by Sept. 15, the city manager's proposed budget takes effect. Once a budget is adopted, it's not set in stone; the Council can re-open most General Fund budgeted items "on any Tuesday" and make changes (and has done so.)

To view the proposed FY19 budget documents in detail, click here.



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