A 29-year-old registered sex offender was charged Friday with a series of sexual assaults in the San Fernando Valley that occurred within a matter of hours last week involving eight victims.
Damian Denzell Robinson Jr. was charged with two felony counts of assault with the intent to commit a forcible sex crime. He also faces six counts of misdemeanor sexual battery and one misdemeanor count each of engaging in lewd conduct and invasion of privacy by peeking at a minor.
He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Friday and is scheduled to return to the San Fernando Courthouse on June 2 for a preliminary hearing setting. Bail was set at $355,000.
Last Sunday, Robinson Jr. allegedly went into a store and pulled down the pants of a 64-year-old woman and groped her. Less than an hour later, the defendant is accused of trying to sexually assault a 73-year-old woman walking down a street, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Minutes later, Robinson Jr. allegedly sexually assaulted a 51-year-old woman on a nearby street. Over the next several hours, the defendant is accused of approaching four additional women and inappropriately touching them.
Robinson Jr. ended his alleged day-long crime spree by trying to surreptitiously record on his phone a 6-year-old girl who was in a store bathroom.
With the assistance of closed-circuit television, police identified Robinson as the alleged groper.
He turned himself in at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lancaster Station on Wednesday night, according to the Los Angeles Police Department and jail records.
If convicted as charged, Robinson Jr. faces up to 16 years and six months in state prison, prosecutors said.
Robinson has a previous conviction for indecent exposure and lewd conduct, resulting in him having to register as a sex offender, police said.
Detectives released a photo of Robinson on Wednesday to encourage additional potential victims to come forward with unreported sexual assaults.
“In a single day, this defendant is accused of committing various sex-related crimes that terrorized seven women and a young girl,” L.A. County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement. “This kind of behavior is calculated, warped and deeply disturbing. It is our job to hold this defendant accountable to ensure this doesn’t happen again. We urge anyone else who believes they may have been a victim or a witness to call the Los Angeles Police Department.”
Anyone with additional information or victims wanting to come forward was urged to call Devonshire Area Sexual Assault Detective Danielle Tumbleson at 818-832-0609. Calls during non-business hours should be made to 877-527-3247. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.