A security guard who sexually assaulted a woman in LA Koreatown in September was indicted on October 6. Police are continuing to investigate additional victims.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on October 12, a 20-year-old woman reported she had been abducted and sexually assaulted on September 29 by a man, later identified as 38-year-old Matthew Scott Reyes, in the area of 3rd Street and Western Avenue.
During the attack, Reyes was subdued by a passerby and hospitalized by police for his injuries. After he was released from the hospital on October 4, police arrested Reyes, and two days later, L.A. County prosecutors charged him with two counts of rape, forced oral copulation and robbery. He remains in custody on $1.5 million bail.
Police say they believe there are at least two other victims who were sexually assaulted by Reyes, both of whom have been identified. Notably, police said Reyes was working as a security guard at the time of the sexual assaults and lured women by providing false sense of security.
“He preyed upon young women by luring them into a false sense of security before he shockingly attacked them,” said LAPD Detective Asia Hodge. “Tragically, victims like that are often too shaken up to come forward and report what happened because they’re afraid of retaliation. Now that he’s off the streets, we hope they’ll feel comfortable speaking up and putting a stop to this.”
The police provided a photo of Reyes and described him as a Filipino with brown eyes and black hair. His hair is shaved on the sides and worn in a ponytail with the tip dyed red. He is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs about 160 pounds.
BY YEJIN KIM [kim.yejin3@koreadaily.com]
