Man charged in UCLA attacks on five women in less than an hour

A 29-year-old man was charged with assaulting five women in less than an hour across the UCLA campus, a sequence of alleged attacks that moved from a pedestrian path into secured residence halls before a witness helped bring it to a stop.

Olumuyiwa Akindahunsi was identified by UCLA police as the suspect. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said he is not a UCLA student and did not have permission to be on campus. Prosecutors charged him with one count of attempted kidnapping to commit a forcible rape, three counts of assault with intent to commit a forcible rape during a first-degree burglary, and two counts of assault likely to produce great bodily injury. If convicted as charged, he faces 32 years to life in state prison and lifetime sex-offender registration.

The alleged attacks began around 11:30 p.m. on May 28, 2026, on Bruin Walk, where prosecutors said Akindahunsi attacked a woman and fled with her cellphone. Minutes later, he allegedly slipped behind two women into a secure dorm building and followed them to their room, where he sexually assaulted one woman and assaulted the other before fleeing. Prosecutors said he then entered another dorm building, including De Neve Evergreen and Dykstra Hall, and attempted to kidnap a woman in a hallway in order to commit a sexual assault. Just after midnight on May 29, he allegedly sexually assaulted another woman in a dorm hallway before a nearby resident intervened.

Police said the witness chased Akindahunsi out of Cedar Hall and officers located him near Parking Structure 8. Evidence recovered in the case included zip ties, duct tape and paracord nylon rope. Authorities said Akindahunsi was experiencing homelessness. He was booked on suspicion of robbery, attempted kidnapping, assault with intent to commit a sex offense and sexual battery, with bail set at $2.3 million.

UCLA police said there was no known ongoing threat to the public after the arrest, but they would increase patrols around the affected residential areas. Chief of Police Craig Valenzuela praised the rapid response of officers and thanked victims and witnesses for reporting the incidents and helping investigators.

The case lands amid broader questions about campus safety at UCLA, where enhanced private security was added in April on sorority row along Hilgard Avenue after reports of harassment and aggressive behavior targeting sorority members. The university’s police department says its campus community includes about 90,000 faculty, staff and students, a scale that leaves little margin for missed warnings when a threat begins moving across campus.