A man whom authorities said was nude when he allegedly punched a 3-year-old girl inside an elevator and attacked a woman at her home nearby in the Sawtelle area of West Los Angeles pleaded not guilty Thursday to two felony counts.
Ishmail Bangura, 33, of Los Angeles, is charged with one count of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death involving the girl, along with a count of assault to commit a forcible rape during the commission of a first-degree residential burglary that includes an allegation that he inflicted great bodily injury on the woman, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Bangura allegedly entered the 63-year-old woman’s home Feb. 27 and threatened to rape and kill her, police said.
The woman ran out of her home and Bangura allegedly pushed her to the ground, got on top of her and again threatened to kill and rape her.
“Nearby residents removed him from her,” according to an officer at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Division.
Arriving officers took the defendant into custody, police said.
The woman was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Police said they later learned that Bangura — also while nude — had punched a 3-year-old girl while in a nearby apartment building elevator the same day. The girl was treated and released at the scene.
Bangura has remained behind bars since his arrest, jail records show. He is due back in court April 16.
If convicted as charged, he could face a maximum sentence of life plus 13 years in state prison and be required to register as a sex offender for life, according to the District Attorney’s Office.