Store Manager Denies Raping Customers

A Laguna Beach rug store manager pleaded not guilty Monday to sexually assaulting several women in the shop.

Saeid Boustanabadi Maralan, a 57-year-old Laguna Niguel resident and the former manager of the since-closed Sirous & Sons rug store in Laguna Beach, faces nine felony charges including rape, sexual penetration by a foreign object, attempted forcible rape, showing lewd materials to a minor, sexual battery, indecent exposure and false imprisonment.

He also worked at the store’s San Clemente branch before his arrest, though the incidents allegedly happened in Laguna Beach.

Maralan worked at Sirous & Sons until his arrest in September 2011 for allegedly showing pornography to a 17-year-old girl. Soon after his arrest, other women came forward with claims of sexual assault and rape, eventually raising the alleged victim count to 11. Most of the incidents allegedly took place inside the rug shop.

Maralan is scheduled to be back in court in March.