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Police on Monday released a sketch of a perpetrator who committed a lewd act against a female juvenile last week at a shopping plaza in Manhattan Beach.

The assault happened at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday while the girl was walking with her friend through Metlox Plaza located at 451 Manhattan Beach Blvd., police said in a news release. The victim and her friend were walking through the common area of the shopping plaza when the man approached them.

The Torrance Police Department released this sketch on Feb. 15, 2021, of a man who committed a lewd act against a juvenile in Manhattan Beach.

“As the male walked by the victim, he reached towards her and placed his hand over the exterior top portion of the victim’s groin,” police said in a statement. 
                 
The victim and her friend fled the area. Police said the perpetrator also fled the shopping plaza and has yet to be identified. 

The victim worked on a sketch of the perpetrator with an artist from the Torrance Police Department. He is described as a male Hispanic, about 30 to 40 years old, with bushy eyebrows, a dark beard, dark hair and dark eyes. He was wearing a zip-up hoodie, dark pants and a beanie.
 
If you have seen the man depicted in the sketch, or have any further information regarding this crime, please contact Detective Jennifer Leach at jleach@citymb.info or the MBPD Tip Line anonymously at 310-802-5171.