LOS ANGELES – An 18-year-old man was charged Friday with sexually assaulting a woman at knifepoint after an attempted robbery aboard a Metro bus traveling in the area of USC.
Edgar Javier Zepeda pleaded not guilty Friday to one count each of forcible oral copulation, attempted first-degree robbery of a transit passenger and sexual battery, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Zepeda is also facing an allegation that he used a knife during the commission of the crimes.
The attack allegedly occurred about 10:15 p.m. April 12 in the vicinity of USC, with Zepeda allegedly fleeing the bus at a stop near Exposition Park, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Jail records show that Zepeda was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Transit Services Division on April 30 and has remained behind bars since then.
“The brutal attack of a woman on public transportation — where she should have felt safe — is both deplorable and unacceptable,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement announcing the charges. “No one in Los Angeles County should have to live in fear while riding a bus, walking down the street or simply going about their daily lives.”
He is due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom May 15. A date is scheduled to be set then for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence against him to allow the case to proceed to trial.
Zepeda could face a potential life term in state prison and registration as a sex offender for life if convicted as charged, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
