GLENDALE : Man Arrested in Rape Attempt at Church

A transient was in custody Wednesday after trying to sexually assault a 71-year-old woman in a restroom at a Glendale church, police said.

Filiberto Gutierrez Maldonado, 34, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of kidnaping to commit felony sexual crimes, Glendale Police Officer Rod Brooks said.

The victim, from Glendale, sustained a cut on her upper lip and a scratch on her right arm but declined treatment at the scene, according to police.

Officers responded to a call to Incarnation Roman Catholic Church, 1001 N. Brand Blvd., at 6:20 p.m. Tuesday where they found the victim sitting in the pews. She told police that she had been praying when someone touched her. As she looked up, a man grabbed her, gave her a “bear hug” and dragged her to the women’s restroom near the back of the church, the woman told police.

Once inside, the victim said, she started screaming. But the man continued his attempt to rape her until a priest and another witness who heard screams burst into the restroom and pulled the man away, she said.

The assailant managed to escape, police said. Twenty minutes later, police said, they spotted Maldonado, who matched a description provided by the woman, a few blocks away.

Maldonado remained in Glendale City Jail on Wednesday in lieu of $150,000 bail.