DATE/TIME: September 8, 2026
INCIDENT: Arrest of Rape Suspect
LOCATION: 2800 Block of Lytle Creek Road, Lytle Creek
SUSPECT(S): Samuel Lau, 29-year-old Resident of Glendale
VICTIM(S): Confidential
SUMMARY: On Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at about 5:18 a.m., deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Fontana Station responded to the community of Lytle Creek for an unknown problem call. When they arrived, deputies located and contacted the victim, who had just been sexually assaulted by a male subject she met on a social media dating application.
Fontana Station detectives identified the suspect as Samuel Lau, a 29-year-old resident of Glendale. Detectives learned that Lau went to Los Angeles International Airport immediately after the assualt and took a flight out of the United States.
Fontana Station detectives continued to investigate and discovered Lau was also the suspect in a sexual assault that occurred in Los Angeles County in July of 2026. Fontana Station detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Lau and continued their investigation.
On September 8, 2026, with the assistance of the Department of Homeland Secuirty and the United States Customs and Border Patrol, Lau was taken into custody at Los Angeles International Airport upon his re-entry into the United States. Lau was turned over to Fontana Station detectives, booked into the West Valley Detention Center for rape by force, and is being held without bail. Detectives believe there may be additional victims and are releasing his photo and a photo of his vehicle.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the Fontana Sheriff’s Station at (909) 356-6767. Callers wishing to remain anonymous should call or text “REPORT” to We-Tip at 844-909-3006. Online reporting is also available at: https://mobile.catapultems.com/sbcsd/Sites
Refer: Detective D. Pedersen
Station: Fontana Sheriff's Station
Phone No. 909-356-6710
Case No. 032602158
SHANNON D. DICUS, Sheriff-Coroner
San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department
