Deputies are searching for a man connected to a spree of home break-ins in Maywood that have involved incidents of sexual battery on women and girls.
The string of burglaries and sexual battery began Oct. 5. The latest incident, reported on Nov. 12, involved an underage girl, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department East Los Angeles Station.
In the latest incident, the suspect - described as a thin Hispanic male in his 20s, between 5 feet 2 inches and 5 feet 5 inches tall and wearing dark clothes - entered the victim's room and covered her mouth.
The victim's mother heard a noise and went in to check on her daughter as the suspect fled.
Police believe the pattern of behavior described by witnesses points to a single suspect being the culprit.
In each case, the suspect entered the home through a window at pre-dawn hours and confronted the victims.
In the first incident, the suspect grabbed the victim's breasts as she sat in her living room, before the victim pushed him away and forced him out of the house, authorities said.
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On Oct. 18, about half a mile away from the first incident, the suspect entered a couple's bedroom around 2:30 a.m. before being scared off when one of the victims woke up and yelled at him.
Roughly and hour-and-a-half later, a victim awoke to the suspect touching her in an "intimate body part." The victim ran and called police after she locked herself in a bedroom, but the suspect was gone when police arrived.
The next day, the suspect entered another home and covered the mouth of a "female juvenile" who slept in her bed, according to the sheriff's department.
The victim was able to scream for help, but the suspect was still able to flee after being confronted and punched by the victim's father.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department East Los Angeles Station Detective Andujo at 323-264-4151.
