A 22-year-old man suspected of sexually assaulting a 79-year-old woman after breaking into her home in Hacienda Heights was arraigned Tuesday.
Manuel Soto allegedly entered the woman’s home in the 1300 block of Kwis Avenue through a window between 2-5 a.m. on May 2 and woke her from her sleep before physically and sexually assaulting her, according to Deputy Morgan Arteaga of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
Soto fled the scene and the woman informed a family member who called 9-1-1.
The woman was taken to a hospital and treated for injuries, Arteaga said.
Soto was arrested by sheriff’s detectives on Saturday in connection an unrelated robbery and was charged Monday with the assault on Kwis Avenue said Deputy Trina Schrader of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
Soto appeared at the Pomona Superior Court Tuesday and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed several charges against him, including forcible rape, elder or dependent abuse and second-degree burglary, Schrader said.
Soto remained in custody and his bail was set at $1.5 million. His next court date was scheduled for May 24.
Anyone with information about the assault was asked to contact the Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau at 877-710-5273 or specialvictimsbureau@lasd.org. Anonymous tips can be called in to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or submitted online at lacrimestoppers.org.
