Assault on Girl at Park Alarms Area Residents

Los Angeles police Friday were searching for a man who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl at gunpoint in a restroom at a public park in North Hollywood, authorities said.

The attack occurred at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Valley Plaza Park in the 12200 block of Archwood Street, said Capt. Greg Meyer of the LAPD’s North Hollywood Division.

“This was truly a vicious crime, and we want this person caught,” Meyer said at a news conference.

He said the girl was walking on a sidewalk next to the Valley Plaza Recreation Center building when the man displayed a handgun, threatened her and forced her into a men’s room, where he assaulted her.

Police searched the area for the assailant, described as a 25- to 35-year-old African American, 5-feet-10 and 180 to 190 pounds. The man, who has a shaved head, was wearing a three-quarter-length black leather jacket, black dress pants and black shoes with laces.

North Hollywood detectives, crisis counselors and City Councilman Joel Wachs, who represents the area, will hold a community awareness meeting Sunday to update residents on the investigation. The meeting will begin at 2 p.m. at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 6020 Radford St., North Hollywood.

Investigators have “pulled out all the stops” to find the assailant, Meyer said, including increased patrols of the area by uniformed and undercover officers.

The additional officers were called in, Meyer said, because the crime was so heinous. He said that sexual assaults have been rare in city parks and that there had been no violent crimes at Valley Plaza Park in recent years.

Meanwhile, Valley Plaza Park officials called the attack “outrageous” and “sick.”

“Everyone here is outraged,” said Joe Medaglia, senior recreation director at Valley Plaza.