Women Warned Of Unusual Rash Of Attempted Sexual Assaults In Downtown Restrooms

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Authorities Tuesday night issued an alert of a series of attempted sexual assaults in downtown Los Angeles restrooms.

The Los Angeles Police Department, Central Division issued the warning via Facebook following an unusual number of cases within a short amount of time.

LAPD detectives there say three women were the victims of attempted sexual assaults inside female restrooms over the course of the past two months.

The incidents happened in different parts of downtown.

"One was a public restroom. One was a business restroom. And one was a restaurant restroom," Detective Thayer Lake of the LAPD Central Division told KCAL9's Rachel Kim.

Detective Lake said the incidents are unrelated and three suspects have been arrested. He believes the incidents were crimes of opportunity.

"It is not a serial rapist and really there's no pattern," he said. "Our information and everything points to the fact that they are completely random."

But the unusual rash of these cases prompted the Central Division to write a post warning women that men have been forcing their way into female restrooms in attempted sexual assaults.

"I think the important thing is for women using restrooms particularly at night, particularly in areas without a lot of traffic to be aware of their surroundings," Lake said.

Meanwhile, detectives also urged business owners in the area to take steps to provide security and/or limit access to their restrooms.