3 Arrested In Prowler Sexual Assaults In West San Fernando Valley: PD

LOS ANGELES, CA — Detectives this week announced four unrelated arrests involving sexual assaults in western San Fernando Valley, and they urged additional victims to come forward.

The alleged assaults occurred in the LAPD's West Valley and Devonshire areas. Three of the cases spanned a three-day period in which separate suspects broke into or entered their victim's homes and sexually assaulted their victims. The fourth case involves a high school teacher arrested on suspicion of abusing a student in Chatsworth.

"Due to the nature of the suspects' alleged actions, police are seeking the public's assistance in encouraging more potential victims to come forward or provide information relevant to the investigations," The Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement.

At the news conference, police displayed photos of:

• Mario Orozco, 31, who was arrested July 5 and was being held on $2.5 million bail. Police allege that in the early morning hours of July 1, Orozco entered several residences in the 18300 block of Vanowen Street in Reseda "and in some incidents, sexually assaulted the victims."

• Blessing Wainiwheh, 30, who was arrested June 29 and was being held on $4.4 million bail. Police allege that about 10 p.m. June 28, "the victim was asleep inside of her residence in the 19500 block of Saticoy Street when the suspect entered her residence through a window. The suspect, later identified as Blessing Wainiwheh, sexually assaulted the victim and fled the location on foot in an unknown direction."

• Cedric Tinsley, 25, was arrested July 1 and was being held without bail. Police allege that about 10 p.m. June 30, "Tinsley discovered the victim's residence near the 19000 block of Astor Place was unsecured. Tinsley entered the residence, encountered the victim, and sexually assaulted her. He then fled the location with the victim's property in her vehicle."

• Edgar Munoz, 43, a former teacher at Polytechnic High School, was allegedly involved in "an inappropriate relationship with a minor that began in 2019 in Chatsworth," police said. According to the LAPD, he was charged last week with 10 counts of unlawful sex with a minor and five counts of oral copulation.

Anyone with information on the cases was urged to call detectives at 818-832-1167, or 877-LAPD-247.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.