Surveillance video from Long Beach, California, appears to show a homeless man allegedly sexually assaulting an unsuspecting woman in broad daylight.
The video shows the suspect rise from his seat on the sidewalk, approach the victim — identified by KTLA 5 as Rebekah Pedersen — and allegedly pull out his genitals while he allegedly attempts to mount her from behind.
Rebekah fell to the ground before a Good Samaritan jumped in and pepper sprayed the suspect, who then ran off, KTLA reported.
“In that moment I had no idea. My first initial thought was like ‘is this someone I know playing a joke on me or something like that?’” Pedersen told KTLA. “And then it was like a matter of seconds, and I was like ‘oh no, and he’s not letting me go’ so I just turned real quick and fell to the ground.”
“I’m just lucky it happened in daylight and not at night because then I probably would have been raped,” Pedersen told KTLA.
Police arrested Miguel Avila, 30, shortly after the October 20 incident, and he was charged with sexual battery, KTLA reported. (RELATED: Florida Woman Attacks Cop With Fingernails After Getting Pulled Over Doing 120 In A 55, Police Say)
The alleged attack is apparently part of a larger issue with homelessness and crime that has left Long Beach residents feeling uneasy in their community.
“The police call this area ‘The Beast,’” Long Beach resident Jason Greenleaf said. “They say they don’t have enough officers to patrol the area, and they tell us not to do anything. We’re in a predicament.”
Greenleaf mention the neighborhood was “out of control.”