Man arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting woman he hired as escort

Los Angeles police say a 25-year-old man sexually assaulted a woman he hired as an escort in Westwood about two weeks ago.

Police said Virenkumar Patel met the unidentified woman on Levering Avenue early on Aug. 31 after connecting with her on an escort website and offering to pay her about $800 per hour.

Last week, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed five separate charges against Patel, including rape, sodomy, assault and kidnapping to commit rape.

After he was arrested, Patel told police that he was a UCLA student, said Chris Ragsdale, the Los Angeles Police Department’s senior lead officer for Westwood. But a university spokesman said there are no students enrolled in degree programs at UCLA with Patel’s name.

Police say the woman met Patel in Westwood late at night, while a “male companion” she brought along waited for her in a parked car nearby.

Patel allegedly forced the woman into an unoccupied building and sexually assaulted her, police said. The woman then told her companion about the assault and reported it to police about 2:30 a.m.

About a week later, on Sept. 8, LAPD officers spoke to the woman and her companion after they allegedly hit Patel with a golf club on Hilgard Avenue between Manning and Le Conte avenues.

Police suspect that they hit Patel with the golf club because Patel did not pay for the woman’s escort services, Ragsdale said. Patel was later arrested and charged for allegedly assaulting the woman on Aug. 31.

Patel could face a life sentence in state prison with a possibility of parole if convicted of kidnapping to commit rape. He could be sentenced to several years in state prison per charge if convicted of the other charges.

Patel was first held with his bail set at $1.3 million bail. He was released on bond early Saturday morning and is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 17 to set a date for a preliminary hearing.

Compiled by Sam Hoff, Bruin senior staff.