LA man suspected of rape after posing as a child care worker, DA says

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles man who authorities say convinced a 15-year-old girl that he worked for a child care business before allegedly driving her to a parking lot and sexually assaulting her has been charged with rape and other charges.

Derrick Dwayne Thompson, 57, is charged with one felony count each of rape, sodomy by use of force of a victim 14 or older and sexual penetration by use of force involving a minor victim over 14, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The charges stem from an investigation by detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Juvenile Division Abused Child Section into reports of an alleged sexual assault involving a teenage girl who was approached by a man in a black Suburban equipped with a sign on the door depicting a child care business while waiting at a bus stop on Nov. 30, 2024.

Investigators later identified Thompson as a person of interest and said he told the victim that he worked for the child care business, according to police.

“Believing the suspect worked for child services, the victim entered the vehicle,” police said in a statement last week. “The suspect drove to a parking lot, told the victim to get into the back seat, then removed the child care business sign from the vehicle door.”

Police said Thompson then got into the back seat with the 15-year-old girl, removed her clothing and began sexually assaulting her.

Thompson was arrested Jan. 15 by the LAPD and remains jailed without bail, according to jail records.

He is due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Friday. A date is scheduled to be set then for a hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to allow the case against him to proceed to trial.

If convicted as charged, Thompson could face a maximum of 75 years to life in state prison and be ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

In the statement announcing the charges, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said, “We are concerned about the possibility of additional victims and urge anyone with information to come forward and contact the LAPD Juvenile Division.”

The LAPD’s Juvenile Division can be reached at 424-259-7097. Those who want to remain anonymous can call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477 or leave tips online at www.lacrimestoppers.org.