Palo Alto police search for suspect in sexual assault near downtown transit center
Police in Palo Alto are searching for a suspect in a sexual assault at the city's transit center earlier this month that was reported on Wednesday, authorities said.
According to the Palo Alto Police Department, authorities learned about the assault on Wednesday at about 12:30 p.m. when police officers were called to the Newark Police Department after a woman reported the sexual assault that had occurred on November 4th in Palo Alto.
The victim, a woman in her thirties, told police that at about 7:30 p.m. on that date, she was waiting for a bus at Palo Alto's downtown transit center when she was approached by an unfamiliar man who asked if she could help him by translating a conversation with another man nearby. The victim agreed and followed the man to a nearby tree line.
The victim realized there was no one else there as the suspect gestured toward a knife clipped to his pants pocket and threatened to harm her if she did not comply with his instructions. The suspect sexually assaulted the victim and then fled on foot in an unknown direction. The victim went home and did not initially report the incident to police due to threats made by the suspect.
The victim described the suspect as a slender Black male in his 30s. The suspect was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black cargo pants, and a surgical-type mask at the time of the assault. Police noted that there have been no incidents similar to this assault in Palo Alto recently.
Police are actively investigating the case and ask that anyone with information about the assault call the department's 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.orgor sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.
