A California woman is speaking out about her recent assault in an upscale Brentwood neighborhood.
A California woman is speaking out about her recent assault in an upscale Brentwood neighborhood.
After meeting a friend, Carmina Lu and her 4-week-old baby walked through a neighborhood they had previously felt safe in. She alleges that around 5 p.m., a shirtless white male in his 20s approached her from behind. “He grabbed me by the hips with both of his hands and started sexually assaulting me,” Lu explained.
“I just would never expect anything like this to happen, especially one month after giving birth to a beautiful baby,” she said.
As the new mother attempted to defend herself and her child, the attacker reportedly struck her in the face.
"The male suspect approached the victim and began to thrust on her as she was walking her baby," said Los Angeles Police Department Officer Charles Miller. "The suspect and victim struck each other, and the suspect took off on foot."
She was left with a split lip, lacerations under her eyes, and received multiple staples in her scalp while receiving treatment at the hospital.
Lu states that she is grateful for neighbors who heard her screams and immediately came to her aid. Some reported that they had seen the man earlier that day, but were not suspicious.
“The baby, thank goodness, was not touched,” Lu said. “Honestly, what scared me the most is that right before he ran away, he glanced at my stroller for a split second. If something had happened to the baby, I just would’ve been devastated.”
Police have detained the man suspected of assaulting Lu. Still, the local community is shaken by news of the attack.
“I just want to walk in my neighborhood and feel safe about it,” she said. “I don’t think I’m going to feel that for a while.”
Authors: Andy Goldwasser and Alexis Kabat
