Man charged with assault, suspected of exposing self and attacking Garden Grove hotel employee

A 41-year-old convicted robber was charged Wednesday, Jan. 8, on suspicion of trying to sexually assault a housekeeper while she was working at a Garden Grove hotel on Monday.

Melvin Pope Jr. was charged with assault with the intent to commit a sex offense and bringing a controlled substance into a jail, both felonies. He was also charged with a misdemeanor count of false imprisonment.

Police were called just before 9:30 a.m. Monday to the Hilton Garden Inn Anaheim/Garden Grove at 11777 Harbor Blvd., said Garden Grove police Lt. Carl Whitney.

A 29-year-old woman who works at the hotel was checking rooms to clean up when she saw the suspect, Whitney said. She initially assumed he was a guest.

Pope allegedly exposed and touched himself before attacking the woman, and pinned her against a wall, Whitney said. She managed to get free, ran into a room and locked herself in, Whitney said. The woman called co-workers, who summoned police.

Police found Pope moments later at Harbor Boulevard and Chapman Avenue, Whitney said. He allegedly had methamphetamine in his pocket when he was being booked into the city’s jail.

Pope was convicted in 1997 of robbery in Los Angeles County, according to the criminal complaint.