Suspect In 'Heinous' Westside Sexual Assaults Arrested: DA

LOS ANGELES, CA — A 29-year-old man who allegedly attacked and sexually assaulted two women near the Venice Canals was charged Monday with multiple felonies.

Anthony Francisco Jones was charged with two counts of forcible rape and one count each of sexual penetration by use of force, mayhem, torture, attempted murder and sodomy by use of force.

The charges include allegations that the crime were committed in the course of a kidnapping, targeted multiple victims and inflicted great bodily injury. He could face life in prison if convicted as charged, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Jones — who pleaded not guilty — was ordered to be held without bail pending his next court appearance May 15. A date is scheduled to be set then for a hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to allow the case against him to proceed to trial.

At a news conference Monday announcing the charges, District Attorney George Gascón called the attacks the "most heinous sexual assaults" he has ever seen.

"Such despicable acts have no place in our society and will not be tolerated," the district attorney said in a statement. "Our office is fully committed to prosecuting the individual accountable for these crimes with the utmost vigor and ensuring that justice is served for the victims."

Jones was arrested Thursday night in San Diego, where he had allegedly fled following the attacks, which occurred the night of April 6, police said.

It was unclear what led police to identify Jones as the suspect.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the first attack occurred about 10:30 p.m. April 6 in the 2700 block of Strongs Drive, where a woman was approached from behind and struck with a blunt object, leaving the woman unconscious. The suspect similarly attacked another woman about an hour later as she was walking near the Sherman Canal.

Police said both victims sustained significant injuries, although their current conditions were unknown.

A GoFundMe page established on behalf of one of the victims -- 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 also states that 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.

City Councilwoman Traci Park, speaking at a news conference last week announcing Jones' arrest, lashed out at the problem of public safety in the city, 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. "No woman, no visitor, no family should be unsafe walking in any neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, much less our city's number one tourist destination," she said. "Our businesses are being pushed to the brink and consumers are paying for it."

She said there are "unstable and potentially dangerous" people roaming the streets, and said Los Angeles "is getting a bad reputation."

"This time it was two innocent women minding their own business just walking through the canals," Park said. "It could have been any one of us -- your neighbor, your colleague, your friend, your sister, your wife. It is time that we get serious about public safety in Los Angeles."

City News Service