A teenage boy was arrested after he allegedly tried to rape a woman at a park in Lansdale.
On Monday, a 25-year-old woman told police she was at Stoney Creek Park on E. Hancock Street with her three children when she spotted a teen, later identified as Herson Guardado, a homeless, 16-year-old boy and citizen of El Salvador.
As the woman placed her children in her car and her back was turned, Guardado allegedly came up from behind, placed his arm around her neck and stuck what she believed to be a knife in her side.
The woman says he was wearing a blue mask and that he forced her to walk towards a wooded area. Guardado allegedly told the woman, “you want sex.” The woman managed to break free and the teen ran towards the woods, according to investigators.
The woman called Lansdale Police who searched the area with a K-9 unit. Police say they eventually tracked Guardado towards Upper Gwynedd. An Upper Gwynedd Police Officer later spotted Guardado on the tracks near the 500 block of Church Road, according to police.
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Police say a second officer saw Guardado exiting the wood line nearby and was able to detain him. The woman later identified Guardado as her attacker.
Police say Guardado had a knife, marijuana and a pipe in his possession.
Guardado is charged with attempted rape, simple assault, attempted sexual assault and other related offenses. Guardado failed to post $100,000 bail. He was later taken to the Montgomery County Correctional facility. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 27.
