Police look for suspects in string of vicious hate crimes against 61-year-old trans woman
Police in Los Angeles are asking for the public's help in identifying three young people wanted for questioning in a violent sexual assault and a series of hate crimes against a 61-year-old transgender woman. Many of the attacks were captured on surveillance video.
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Sabrina de la Peña was attacked inside the store she owns and operates in the city's Westlake district on April 8.
'The victim rejected his advances, and he left,' the LAPD said in a press release. 'However, the suspect returned a short time later and pushed her to the ground. The suspect sexually assaulted the victim and discovered she was a transgender woman. The suspect pulled away and threatened to kill the victim.'
Related: Anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes skyrocket in Los Angeles
The suspect left, but returned later with two other teens.
'During one incident, the suspect used a skateboard to strike the victim,' police said in the press release. 'On another occasion, the suspect pepper-sprayed the victim. In the final incident, the suspect threw an unknown liquid at the victim while another suspect attempted to stun her with a Taser.'
'I was screaming for help, but nobody around giving help to me,' Sabrina de la Peña told local The CW affiliate KTLA. 'He take me out to the alleyway and he start beating me outside.'
Some of the attacks were caught on video. In one attack, one of the suspects is seen waiting outside the door of de la Peña's store with a skateboard, which he uses to forcefully strike her as de la Peña exits the building.
She said the attackers have returned twice since the initial assault, and that the entire ordeal has left her shaken.
'I want to ask the community to help me find those guys, help the police catch those guys. If not, they're going to kill me,' de la Peña told KTLA. 'Now, I don't feel safe. I feel unsafe in the alley. I cannot work because I only thinking he going to come back.'
Anyone with additional information about the identity of the suspects can contact Rampart Division Robbery Detectives at 213-484-3495. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or go directly to www.lacrimestoppers.org. Lastly, tipsters may also download the 'P3 Tips' mobile application and select the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers as their local program.
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