A guy with tribal holes in his ears — ear gauges — sexually attacked two women at an apartment complex near Sylmar High School over the weekend, cops say.

The assaults on two victims — one was dragged away as the suspect started to remove her clothes — happened early Sunday morning in the 12900 block of Dronfield Avenue, according to LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon.

He fears that the suspect …


View Larger Map

… might live at the building where the assaults took place.

The first incident happened at 2:40 a.m. when the man targeted a woman pushing a stroller, cops say: They allege he reached under her dress and “groped her.”

The suspect ran when she screamed, but police say that about an hour later he made a bolder move, dragging a screaming woman to seclusion and removing her clothing before two neighbors intervened.

In the second crime the suspect started off by making “small talk,” say cops.

Vernon:

He grabbed her and through a combination of carrying and dragging, he moved her 60 feet to a dark, secluded area, and started to remove her clothing.

Both victims are Latinas in their 30s and live in the complex where the attacks happened, the LAPD says. They were both uninjured, according to the department.

Here's how the LAPD describes the guy detectives are looking for:

The suspect is in his mid-twenties. Both women described him as wearing large gauges in both earlobes, making for a distinct appearance. The man had a medium build, 5'8″ tall, 160 pounds, either wearing a hoodie or a baseball cap.

Vernon is calling him “The Ear Gauge Stalker:”

We've already received one tip that the man with the ear gauges visits someone in the complex regularly. We'll be distributing the composite [sketch] as soon as the victims are available, and we're poring over sex offender roles for the area to see if any registrants fit the suspect's description.

If you think you have info on the suspect's location, call 818-838-9975.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.