Sexual assault victim recounts incident

Deepa Bharath

When Melissa felt a hand cover her eyes from behind, she thought it

was her brother playing a joke on her.

Melissa, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, did

not expect to be assaulted that sunny Thursday afternoon while

walking down Victoria Street, pushing her 18-month-old son in a

stroller.

Melissa is one of five Costa Mesa women who have been attacked on

Victoria Street since January.

“This person closed my eyes and then I felt another pair of hands

grab my legs off the ground and push me behind a big bush on the side

of the street,” Melissa said, describing her trauma of April 8.

The men then started removing her clothes, Melissa said. She was

less than two blocks away from her home.

“I was wearing a pair of pants and a big sweater because it was a

little chilly that day,” she said.

Her attackers managed to get the sweater off, but fortunately for

Melissa, they struggled with her pants and then fled when they heard

passersby.

“I was kicking and screaming,” she said. “I made it hard for them.

But at one point, I was like ‘whatever.’ I was panicking about my

son. After a certain point, I didn’t care what they did to me. I

wanted my son to be safe.”

Melissa, at the time, had no idea what had happened to her son,

who was sleeping when she was attacked.

“I was really worried about him,” she said.

The entire episode lasted less than two minutes, Melissa said.

“After they ran away, I found they had pushed the stroller to near

the bush where they took me,” she said. “And my son was safe.”

Melissa has lived in a quiet Westside neighborhood with her

boyfriend for the last four years, she said.

“I walk a lot more now with the baby,” she said. “And I never

thought twice about it. I always felt safe here in this city and this

has been a good neighborhood.

“I never, never expected someone to attack me in broad daylight,

on a busy street. Never.”

Melissa comes from Kansas, where she was used to leaving the door

open. That relaxed attitude has definitely changed with the April 8

incident, she said.

“I’ve learned not to be as trusting of my surroundings,” she said.

“I look around now and watch if someone is watching me. I find myself

looking behind me to see if anyone’s following me.”

Melissa now carries two cans of pepper spray. The smaller one is

attached to her key chain, which she grips in the palm of her hand.

She keeps the larger can in her purse, just in case.

“And [Friday] is my first day at self-defense class,” she said

with a smile. “I’m going to make sure I’m prepared to protect

myself.”

But Melissa said she is happy to see Costa Mesa police patrolling

her streets more often now.

“They have been really great about this,” she said. “They call me

every day to find out if I’m doing OK.”

The police department last week released composite sketches of two

men suspected of being involved in the attacks. The assaults, almost

all of which targeted women walking alone on the street, have plagued

the Westside since January.

Three of the five incidents have happened in broad daylight.

Melissa said she wasn’t able to identify any of her attackers

because they had bandanas covering their faces. All she saw was both

getting into a white pickup truck and leaving, she said.

“They never said a word throughout the whole thing,” she said. “I

could only guess they were [Latino] because of their skin and hair

color.”

Costa Mesa Police Chief John Hensley said his department is

working overtime to track down the assailants.

“We have our detectives and our special enforcement team working

on this,” he said. “We’re actively looking for the attackers who have

clearly committed brazen acts.”

Starting today, Costa Mesa police officers will circulate more

fliers in the area to increase awareness in the neighborhood about

the assaults, Lt. John FitzPatrick said.

Those men who attack in daylight on a busy street are clearly

doing it “for the thrill,” said Heather Banuelos, program director

for Sexual Assault Victims Services, which serves as Orange County’s

rape crisis center.

“Often these men do it to see what they can get away with,” she

said. “They are looking for power and control and sometimes, succumb

to peer pressure.”

Although these victims haven’t been raped, the trauma of sexual

battery is not to be underrated, Banuelos said.

“There is a deep amount of embarrassment and shame,” she said.

“Someone’s safety and personal boundaries have been infringed upon.

And that can be quite shocking.”

Such attacks create fear not only in the minds of the victims, but

also the neighbors, Banuelos said.

“The fear spreads to people living in an area and they get even

more frightened if the attacks are by strangers as opposed to an

acquaintance rape where they can easily say, ‘She shouldn’t have been

with him or gone out with him.’”

Women must take precautions at all times, especially in times when

there is a threat such as a possible attack.

“It’s best to have a buddy system where you always walk with

someone, never alone,” Banuelos said. “Stay away, if possible, from

areas where you know things are happening. Walk with your head held

up high and know your surroundings.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.