Safety an issue in Pico park
VIRGINIA AVENUE PARK — Police were searching Tuesday for a 20-year-old Hispanic man wanted in connection with a sexual assault that occurred here earlier in the day.
Officers said the victim was using a pay phone about 6:10 a.m. in the 2200 block of Virginia Avenue when the suspect approached her and raped her, police said. The suspect fled on a bicycle. The color or brand of bike was not available.
The victim was taken to a local hospital where she was treated and released, police said.
The attack was the second violent incident to occur at the recently-renovated park in the last week.
On Friday, July 7 at 8:45 p.m., police said a young Hispanic man was shot in the upper torso while at the park. He was transported to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries. As of Monday afternoon, police were still searching for the suspect.
“My concern is that this incident further raises the issue of whether or not the park is a safe place to be,” said Betty Macias, who manages the park. “For the most part, I think this is still a safe place. I mean, how do you account for something like this? It could have happened anywhere. I really don’t know what to say about it, except that there has been an increased police presence here during regular program hours.”
The 9.5-acre park officially reopened in December after a $13 million expansion and renovation that was intended to clean up the aging and outdated space, where troubled teens outnumbered families.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 12, 2006. Read the original PDF.