Man sexually assaults mom on walk with newborn, CA officials say. ‘He would not stop’
A man has been charged after he was accused of sexually and physically assaulting a new mother on a walk with her newborn, California prosecutors say.
Prosecutors charged Abraham Shily, 26, with one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon, along with four misdemeanors, including sexual battery, child abuse and false imprisonment, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said in an Aug. 9 news release.
During his Aug. 8 arraignment, “Shily pleaded not guilty to all charges,” prosecutors said.
“No one should have to fear for their safety while simply walking with their child in their own neighborhood,” District Attorney George Gascón said in the release.
As the mother was walking her 1-month-old in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood at about 4:30 p.m. July 16, Shily approached, prosecutors said.
He then sexually and physically assaulted her, prosecutors said.
“He grabbed me by the hips, and he just started thrusting himself into me,” the woman, Carmina Lu, told KTTV. “He’s thrusting his hips into my hips from behind, grabbing me by the hips very aggressively. And he would not stop.”
Lu told KCAL she fought back.
“I immediately told him to get off, get away,” Lu told the TV station. “I started defending myself, and then at a certain point, he turned and started hitting me in the face.”
As she screamed, Lu said her neighbors rushed over, KTLA reported.
“I’m very grateful to the neighbors who heard me yelling and immediately came to my aid,” she told the outlet.
Shily ran from the area, prosecutors said, and Lu was left with “great bodily injury.
Despite the stark situation, Lu told Westside Today she feels “lucky” the situation wasn’t worse.
“In that second, he glanced at the baby stroller like he might do something, and then he ran off,” Lu told the news outlet. “But I’m just so grateful that nothing happened to the baby.”
Days after the attack, Shily was arrested after police identified him as a suspect, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Shily, who was released after posting $50,000 bail, is expected to appear in court again Oct. 1, the district attorney’s office said.
He could face up to nine years in prison if convicted of all charges, prosecutors say.
This story was originally published August 13, 2024 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Man sexually assaults mom on walk with newborn, CA officials say. ‘He would not stop’."
