Detectives said the man grabbed her from behind and dragged her to some nearby bushes.
"He then laid on top of her after forcing her down and thankfully this smart young lady was able to fight him off and scream and shout and run away from him," said LAPD officer Sara Faden.
Nathaniel Tolliver was leaving his girlfriend's house at the time of the attack. He wasn't able to see the suspect, but he saw the victim moments after she escaped.
"She was walking back and forth pacing," said Tolliver. "She was really distraught, but she was on her cell phone. She was composed enough to make a phone call which is amazing to me considering what she had just been through. She wasn't bawling, she was sobbing."
Police said the suspect was last seen running northbound on Mansfield. They said the young girl's screams is what scared her attacker away.
"She did the right thing," said Faden. "She screamed, she hollered, she shouted as loud as she could. She got away from him and that created a scare in his part and he left."
The young girl did receive some minor cuts and scrapes.
The suspect was described as a black male in his 30s, about 6 feet tall and around 180 pounds. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt at the time of the attack.
Police are asking for anyone with tips on the crime to call the LAPD at 1-877-LAPD-24-7.
