Two suspects arrested in videotaped sex abuse of disabled women in Los Angeles

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Two suspects arrested in videotaped sex abuse of disabled women in Los Angeles

2011-01-09 23:54:58 GMT+7 (ICT)

LOS ANGELES (BNO NEWS) -- Two suspects were arrested in Los Angels County on Saturday in connection with the videotaped sex abuse of severely disabled women, police said on Sunday.

Details about the case were first released on Thursday when the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced it was looking for at least four male suspects, two of whom are still being sought. The investigation began when the Sheriff's Department acquired images from a computer hard drive from an 'anonymous source.'

The hard drive contained more than 100 hours of video which shows at least ten female adult victims being sexually assaulted by at least eight men. All of the victims appear to be severely disabled and the assaults were carried out at several locations, including what appears to be a residential care facility.

"Detectives from the Special Victims Bureau are concerned that these sexual assaults might still be occurring," said Sergeant Dan Scott on Thursday. "The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department welcomes information that can lead to stopping these criminals."

On Friday night, Los Angeles Police Department detectives notified sheriff's detectives that they recognized two of the four suspects depicted in the photos and composites. One of them is 42-year-old Bert Hicks, a black male from Los Angeles who is currently incarcerated in Tehachapi State Prison.

Hicks is incarcerated in state prison since he was convicted of caretaker, lewd and lascivious acts on a dependent adult. The assault that resulted in Hicks' arrest was not videotaped and Hicks is not due for release from prison until 2012.

"LAPD and sheriff's detectives are working together to compare the acts for which Hicks is alleged to have committed on the videotape, against the acts for which he was convicted and currently incarcerated. This will assist in determining further charges against Hicks, if any," the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement on Sunday.

Another suspect was identified as 27-year-old Ernie Lloyd, a Hispanic male who resides in the city of Los Angeles. He was also identified by an LAPD detective due to a case the department had previously investigated.

On Saturday morning, Lloyd arrived at the Hollywood Station of the Los Angeles Police Department, saying he had seen himself on the news and that he knew he was wanted. LAPD officers called sheriff's detectives and, later on Saturday, he was arrested after he implicated himself.

Lloyd was arrested by Sheriff's Special Victims Bureau detectives for rape of a person with disabilities (261(a)(1) California Penal Code). His bail amount was set at $100,000.00.

The investigation is still in its early stages, the Sheriff's Department said, but detectives believe that the crimes occurred in 2007 or earlier, at a residential care facility in the city of Los Angeles, where both Lloyd and the female adult victim were living at that time.

Detectives have identified the 25-year old white female victim by name, that Lloyd is alleged to have assaulted, but have not yet been able to locate her. Neither she nor Lloyd still live at the residential care facility where the alleged assault occurred.

"The public is clearly shocked and disturbed by every aspect of this case," said Sheriff's Detective Sergeant Dan Scott. "We have heard from so many people who want to help, as well as from people who fear their loved ones may have been among the women abused. The best thing we can do for everyone, especially the victims, is to diligently follow every lead, work to find and protect the victims, arrest the suspects, and somehow bring some justice to these profoundly disturbing crimes."

"Thanks to detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department, two of the four suspects depicted have been identified," Scott added. "One suspect was already in prison, and now a second has been arrested. Working together, we have also identified one of the victims and will not stop until we find her."

Scott added: "While progress has been made on this shocking case, there is much more to be done. There are still two more suspects whose images have been shared who have not yet been identified, as well as four other suspects. Of great importance to us as well, is that we need to find and help all of the victims."

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