Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) investigators have arrested a man suspected in a number of attempted sexual assaults against young girls in the Westlake district, a string of incidents that plagued the working-class neighborhood just west of Downtown for nearly two years.
Investigators apprehended 41-year-old Daniel Merino, a resident of Hollywood, on February 2. He is currently being held in lieu of $4 million in bail, and could be sentenced to anywhere from 25 years to life in prison if convicted on all charges against him.
Merino allegedly approached at least four girls — all of them 9 or 10 years old — as they walked alone on the streets of Westlake, often on their way to school in the early morning hours. Investigators contend that Merino would start conversations with the girls and lure them into apartment buildings in the neighborhood, sometimes taking them to rooftops. He would attempt to sexually assault them, according to investigators, although in each case it appears that he became frightened and fled before causing any physical harm to the girls.
Merino's arrest came after detectives with LAPD's Special Assault Section obtained surveillance video and used a high-tech license plate scanner to zero in on a vehicle he used. Investigators said that they subsequently discovered additional evidence linking Merino to the assaults.
Investigators allege that Merino is responsible for at least three similar attempts, beginning with an incident in April 2008.
1st District Los Angeles City Councilmember Ed Reyes, who represents the Westlake district, sponsored a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case, and a private citizen who requested anonymity offered $25,000. It remained unclear as of this writing whether the rewards played any role in Merino's arrest.
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