Crime & Safety

U.S. Customs Agent Accused of Sexual Assault

Fountain Valley man being held in connection with alleged sexual assault in Garden Grove. He's also linked to a Long Beach case.

A Fountain Valley man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman in Garden Grove last November.

Miguel Lerma Jr., 31, who works as a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent, allegedly picked up the 20-year-old woman on Harbor Boulevard in Santa Ana last Nov. 14 around 2 a.m. He then drove the woman to Garden Grove, where he allegedly sexually assaulted her, Garden Grove police Lt. John Keely said.

Police were able to link Lerma to the assault through DNA evidence, which also links Lerma to a previously cold Long Beach sexual assault case from 2009, Keely said.

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Lerma was arrested in Fountain Valley as he was leaving for work Thursday morning. He is being held at the Orange County jail in lieu of $1 million bond.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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