A man has been arrested after a series of sexual assaults in Bellflower and Lakewood that happened just hours apart, police said.
Joshua Cooper, 19, allegedly sexually assaulted a 29-year-old woman in Bellflower and then just two and a half hours later made his way to Lakewood High School, where he sexually assaulted a girl in a restroom, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.
The first assault happened around 10 a.m. Friday when Cooper grabbed the 29-year-old victim from behind as she was walking home on the 9200 block of Palm Street, the LASD said. After sexually assaulting her, Cooper took the woman's cellphone and ran from the scene, the department said.
Then, around 12:30 p.m., Cooper went to Lakewood High School and sexually assaulted a girl as she was using the restroom, according to the LASD. Cooper fled when a school employee entered the restroom.
Cooper was arrested Saturday and booked at the LASD's Lakewood station for assault with intent to commit rape, robbery and attempted rape. His bail was set at $220,000 and he is scheduled to appear Wednesday at the Bellflower Courthouse.
Anyone with information about the alleged sexual assaults is asked to call the LASD's Special Victims Bureau at 877-710-5273.
Neither Lakewood High School nor the Long Beach Unified School District could be reached for comment.
