By Jorge Casuso

August 28, 2024 -- A homeless man with an out-of-state criminal record was arrested for sexual battery Tuesday afternoon after attacking a young woman who was sunbathing on the beach, according to police.

LA County Lifeguards flagged down a police officer assigned to the beach to report the incident, which took place at around 1:30 p.m. in the 1300 block of the beach, according to police.

The victim, who was in her early twenties, was sunbathing with her sister when the suspect -- identified as Alonzo Dickson, 25, approached.

The victim reported that he "climbed on top of her and started thrusting against her," said Erika Aklufi, the Police Department spokesperson.

"She quickly got up and her sister helped push the suspect away," Aklufi said. "The individual left southbound on the beach while the victim looked for help."

Officers located the suspect matching the description provided by the victim and witness a short distance away.

Dickson was arrested for sexual battery with restraint, a felony, and remain in custody, Aklufi said. The case will be presented to the District Attorney for filing consideration.

The California penal code defines felony sexual battery as "touching an intimate part of another person while that person is unlawfully restrained" for the purpose of ""sexual arousal, sexual gratification, or sexual abuse."

Dickson has at least one pending criminal case in Washington State, police said.

"Detectives are looking into the details of that incident as part of this investigation," Aklufi said. "He has no known arrest record in California."

Tuesday's incident took place one month after SMPD's Direct Action Response Team (DART) arrested a registered sex offender for felony child annoyance while patrolling the beach in an MUV (Multi Utility Vehicle).

The officers were flagged down on Saturday, July 27, at 2:11 p.m. on the 1600 block of the beach by a mother who reported a man was "taking photographs of her 16-year-old daughter in her bathing suit," Aklufi said.

The suspect -- who had a prior conviction for lewd and lascivious acts with a child -- "was in possession of multiple photographs of multiple underage females in their bathing suits."

Earlier his month, the Dart team located a fugitive wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Richland County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio for rape.

The officers arrested Jose Flores, 45, after contacting a group sharing an illegal encampment on the beach and using a fingerprint reader.

The officers received a late response to the fingerprinting results after the stop had been completed and found Flores in the Downtown area. He will be extradited to Ohio, where the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force has been offering a reward for information leading to his capture.

Anyone with information about this individual or incident should email Detective Murphy at Nicole.Murphy@santamonica.gov or call the Watch Commander (24 hours) at (310) 458-8427.