Transient Accused in Rape Attempt Pleads Not Guilty

A 27-year-old transient who crashed through the glass door of a Glendale office building after he was interrupted during an alleged rape attempt pleaded not guilty Monday in Glendale Municipal Court.

Robert Morales, whose last address was in Montebello, was charged with attempted rape, false imprisonment and assault, police said. He was being held at Los Angeles County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Glendale Police Investigator Ron Insalaco said Morales is suspected of attacking a 33-year-old pharmaceutical saleswoman Oct. 24 while she was making a delivery at 607 N. Central Ave.

The woman told police that she was entering a restroom from the hallway when a man pushed her from behind, forced her to the floor and attempted to rape her. When another woman entered the restroom and called for help, the attacker fled, the police report said.

The attacker punched a male office worker who tried to stop him in the hallway, then crashed through a glass door to get out of the building, police said.

Using a license plate number and other information provided by witnesses, Glendale police traced Morales to East Los Angeles the next day and arrested him, Insalaco said. Before his arrest, Morales had obtained treatment at a county hospital for a severely cut left arm, the investigator said.