LA district attorney's office urged to reconsider filing in Long Beach sex assault case
The Long Beach City Prosecutor has asked the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office to reconsider its decision not to file a felony case against a man accused of attacking a woman in Long Beach in a crime caught on surveillance video.
Miguel Angel Avila Figueroa is facing one misdemeanor count each of sexual battery and vandalism in connection with the alleged attack about 2 p.m. Oct. 20 near Linden Avenue and East Broadway.
In the security video, the victim is seen walking on a sidewalk in a dark dress, passing a man who is sitting on the sidewalk. After she passes by, the man stands up and begins following her, eventually grabbing and lifting her dress from behind before she falls to the ground. A witness nearby approached the man as he tried to leave, but the suspect ran away. He was gone before police arrived.
"You can see his hand go out to the side as he's pulling on his genitals, right before he lifts my dress up," said Rebekah Pedersen, the victim of the blatant assault. "If that's not intent, I don't know what is."
Figueroa, 30, remains jailed in lieu of $75,000 bail while awaiting a pretrial hearing Nov. 8.
The District Attorney's Office declined to file a felony case, and the city charter only allows misdemeanor charges to be filed by the city prosecutor's office, according to a posting online about the case by the prosecutor's office.
Pedersen called the decision disgusting.
"Again, how was this not attempted rape? Tell me you want me to get raped more or that you're punishing me because I got away," Pedersen said. "That's what it also feels like."
However, the decision from Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert's office reached out to the DA in hopes of getting that decision changed. He says that everyone in his office feels the attack is felony level conduct.
"If felony charges are filed, the defendant could face increased incarceration, but it could also result in greater rehabilitation resources through Collaborative Court and the L.A. County Probation Department, which are not available for misdemeanor defendants," according to the city prosecutor's office. "At a minimum, bringing sexual assault charges at the felony level will more likely ensure the defendant has access to appropriate treatment, while exposing the defendant to additional jail or prison time, in an effort to better protect the public."
Pedersen said it's nice to know that the city has her back, even if the county doesn't.
"I absolutely am grateful for that," she said. "It's nice to know that majority of, especially men, see exactly what was wrong with this whole entire thing."
In response to the request from Long Beach, the District Attorney's Office released a statement Tuesday afternoon, which said: "The case was carefully reviewed previously. However, based on additional information, the head deputy of our Sex Crimes Division will review the evidence and interview a witness that was located after our initial decision was made to determine whether any felony charges are provable."
Additionally, the Long Beach City Prosecutor's Office posted an online transparency page, where they plan to continue posting public information about the case and the suspect.
Haubert says at minimum, getting felony sexual assault charges filed will give him access to appropriate jail time and treatment.
Pedersen says that treatment doesn't work for predators.
"I think that the only type of rehabilitation for someone who has no self control over their genitals just needs to be castrated," she said. "I think that's the only kind of rehabilitation that you can have."
The next court hearing for the case is scheduled for November 8.
