A Carlsbad teenager was arrested last week, accused of a series of sexual assaults at a popular North County shopping center, and now police in that city are asking any women who were also victims to come forward.
Brandon Cabrera, 18, was taken into custody on May 6 at 2:30, later booked into the Vista Detention Center on three separate counts of sexual battery.
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According to investigators, Cabrera preyed on female shoppers for at least the past year. In the latest incident, on Monday, May 2, he followed a woman to her car after she left the Shoppes at Carlsbad in north Carlsbad and "sexually battered her by grabbing a part of her body," police said. In this case, the victim chased the teen, who got away.
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On Feb. 7, also a Monday, Cabrera allegedly followed a woman around the Macy's at the same mall, eventually approaching her from behind and also grabbing her in a sexual manner before fleeing.
Investigators said a third woman recently told them she, too, had been sexually assaulted by Cabrera at the mall. She said the attack took place in May of last year, when she was assaulted in a sexual manner.
Carlsbad police said on Tuesday that workers at the Shoppes at Carlsbad and Macy’s department store had assisted with Cabrera's arrest. Investigators are asking the public to contact Det. Dzung Luc at 442-339-2173 or dzung.luc@carlsbadca.gov if they, too were victims or have any information about the incidents.
