Security video shows brazen sexual assault of California woman by homeless man

The alleged sexual assault of a woman by a homeless man was captured by surveillance video on the sidewalk in Long Beach, California.

The video from Friday at about 2 p.m. shows a woman walking by a man sitting on the sidewalk on Linden Avenue past Wabi Sabi Village Market.

The man got up after she passed him and followed her. He allegedly exposed himself and sexually assaulted her from behind. She fell to the ground, and a bystander tried to intervene and chased him away after he adjusted his pants.

Police said they responded to the incident soon after, but the man had fled from the area. Hours later, they arrested a suspect: 30-year-old Miguel Avila. Police said Avila is homeless.

Long Beach Police Department spokesperson Alyssa Baeza said that Avila was booked on suspicion of sexual battery as well as suspicion of theft of personal property from an open warrant. He is being held on $1,000 bail.

Residents in the neighborhood said it's becoming increasingly dangerous because of the homeless crisis.

"It was horrifying to see," said Long Beach resident Jason Greenleaf to KTLA-TV. “I mean, this neighborhood is out of control.”

Others told KTLA that businesses had shut down because people were afraid to walk around in the area.

“The police call this area ‘The Beast,’” Greenleaf continued. “They say they don’t have enough officers to patrol the area and they tell us not to do anything. We’re in a predicament.”

Joe Harding, another resident, said the problems extended beyond homelessness.

“A lot of people just want to use the word ‘homeless’ as a blanket description, but we don’t like that term,” Harding told KTLA. “Those that are out on the streets that are violent, that are addicted, mentally unstable, perpetually homeless and kind of socially inept are adding to the problems that we have here.”

The median home listing price in Long Beach is $808,000 according to Realtor.com.

Here's the surveillance video of the incident:

Cameras capture sexual assault on Long Beach streetwww.youtube.com

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