A woman was walking along the Venice Canal area, in the 2700 block of Strongs Drive on April 6, around 10:30 p.m., when a man walked up behind her, knocked her unconscious with what is believed to be a metal pipe.
A second attack occurred about an hour later in the same area. A woman was hit in the head with what police think was a glass bottle. She was knocked unconscious and sodomized.
Los Angeles Police Department commander Steven Lurie said the two victims were women in their mid-40s and mid-50s.
Anthony Francisco Jones, 29, was arrested in San Diego on April 11, and was charged on April 12 with seven felonies: two counts of forcible rape and one count of sexual penetration by use of force, one count of mayhem, one count of torture, one count of attempted murder and one count of sodomy by use of force.
At a press conference at the L.A. Pacific Division Police Department, Jones was described as a Black male, 6’1”, 200 pounds.
Prosecutors are calling the brutal sexual assaults some of the worst cases they have ever seen.
“If convicted as charged, he faces a maximum of life in prison,” said District Attorney George Gascón at a press conference on Monday, April 15.
“I want to express my deepest condolences to both of the victims and their families for their suffering. We are going to make sure that justice is done not only for them, but for our community. The level of brutality that was engaged in was very reprehensible.”
Officials said that Jones was originally from Oklahoma and had a petty criminal history in other states.
Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the suspect had no criminal history in Los Angeles County and that she supported prosecuting sexual predators to the fullest extent of the law.
Although Jones had been described as transient, officials were unsure of his housing status.
Jones has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail until his court appearance on May 15.
Police said both victims sustained significant injuries. A GoFundMe page has been click here established on behalf of one of the victims –Mary, a 54- year-old woman — says she suffered eight fractures to her jaw, a large laceration on the back of her head, multiple contusions on her face and neck and lost several teeth.
“She will require many surgeries and is currently getting her jaw wired shut for at least a month,” the page states.
The page said the woman had recently lost her health insurance and was in the process of obtaining a new policy through Covered California but had not completed the process.
The other woman is still in a coma.
City Councilwoman Traci Park, speaking at a news conference last week announcing Jones’ arrest, lashed out at the lack of public safety, blaming “catch-and-release” and “criminals-are-the-victims” policies for making the city unsafe.
“People in the city of Los Angeles are sick and tired of feeling unsafe,” she said and added there are “unstable and potentially dangerous people” roaming the streets. “No woman, no visitor, no family should be unsafe walking in any neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles.”
Please, women, no matter your age, don’t walk alone after dark in dangerous neighborhoods! Walk with others during the day. Desperate people are waiting for opportunities. Don’t be a victim.