A 32-year-old man was arrested Tuesday in connection with a series of sexual assaults on elderly women that began in 2015, including two women attacked at the same senior care facility, in the San Fernando Valley area.
The Los Angeles Police Department arrested Danilo Arturo Gonzalez at his North Hollywood residence on suspicion of assault with intent to commit a sexual offense during a burglary.
Police said the assaults began longer than a year ago on March 27, 2015 when a 66-year-old woman was attacked as she walked to her home near Cozycroft Avenue and Mayall Street. Gonzalez was accused of rendering her unconscious before sexually assaulting her.
Months later on July 30, police said Gonzalez sneaked into a senior care facility near Lindley Avenue and Parthenia Street in Northridge through a sliding-glass door. He was accused of sexually assaulting an 81-year-old woman before leaving.
On Sept. 30, a 71-year-old woman was sexually assaulted at her home in the 18600 block of Vintage Street, police said. The accused attacker got into the home through a sliding-glass door, as he did in a previous assault, before assaulting the victim, police said.
The suspect wouldn't strike again until nearly a year later on May 13, police said, when he sneaked into the same senior care home in Northridge through an unsecured sliding glass door. Police said he sexually assaulted an 81-year-old woman and then tried to assault an 87-year-old woman in a different room before taking off.
Detectives investigated the senior care facility and later determined that Gonzalez was the suspected attacker.
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He was arrested and held on $2,150,000 bail.
A spokeswoman from the senior home, Pacifica Northridge, released a statement following the arrest:
"Our thoughts and prayers right now are for our resident's well-being and their family. We are pleased that the perpetrator of this crime has been apprehended. We are very thankful and appreciative of the support of the LAPD. We continue to be committed to the happiness and safety of our residents, as we have been over the last eight years of ownership."
Anyone with tips related to the crimes is encouraged to call detectives at (213) 486-6910.
