Suspect In SF Mission District Rapes Facing 26 Felony Counts
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - A man accused of sexually assaulting three women between June and December along San Francisco's 24th Street corridor made his initial appearance in court Wednesday to face more than two dozen felony charges.
Frederick Dozier Jr., 32, did not enter a plea at Wednesday afternoon's arraignment hearing, which was continued to Friday morning.
Dozier has been charged with 26 felony counts, including attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery, attempted rape, forcible oral copulation and other sexual assault charges.
He was arrested last Friday in connection with the three attacks, which happened on June 17 around 2:50 a.m. near 24th Street and South Van Ness Avenue, on Nov. 18 around 4 a.m. near 24th Street and Potrero Avenue, and on Dec. 8 around 6:20 a.m. near 24th and Fair Oaks streets, prosecutors said.
In each case, a man attacked the women from behind. In the June assault, he allegedly dragged the victim to a nearby driveway where he robbed and sexually assaulted her.
KCBS' Bob Melrose Reports:
In the November incident, the attacker choked and punched the victim, then sexually assaulted and robbed her, twisting her neck and using a blunt object to strike her before fleeing, prosecutors said.
In the third attack, a man choked the victim until she lost consciousness. When she came to, the man was sexually assaulting her, and he punched her, slammed her face into the sidewalk and robbed her before fleeing, according to the district attorney's office.
District Attorney George Gascon joined various city and community leaders at a news conference Wednesday to announce the charges.
Gascon said Dozier was "preying on unsuspecting women," but was caught as part of "a complete community effort."
The cases drew public outcry and prompted a community meeting last month that brought out hundreds of people.
Police Cmdr. Mike Beal said investigators received an "amazing" number of tips and input from community members following the meeting and the release of a sketch and surveillance video by investigators.
Supervisor Scott Wiener, whose district encompasses the spot where the third attack happened, said the assaults "brought out the best" in the community.
"Instead of just wringing their hands, they took immediate steps to step up, raise money for the victims, and get the word out," Wiener said. "I'm just in awe of what these neighbors were able to do."
Andy Segal, president of the Fair Oaks Community Coalition, said he lives four doors away from the location of the December assault.
When he found out about the attacks, Segal said he thought, "Not here, this is not what we're about."
The Fair Oaks Community Coalition has since raised about $12,000 in a fund to help the victims' recovery.
Further contributions can be sent to the "24th Street Survivors Fund" at Sterling Bank and Trust, located at 3800 24th St., San Francisco, CA 94114.
Police and prosecutors also encouraged any other potential victims of attacks by Dozier to come forward by calling the Police Department's special victims unit at (415) 558-5500.
Dozier was arrested with the help of a tip to police, who then matched his DNA with evidence found at the crime scenes, Beal said.
He said Dozier was arrested just 45 minutes after police determined the DNA was a match.
Dozier was employed as a part-time student nutrition services worker at the San Francisco Unified School District, according to district officials. His employment with the school district has been terminated, a district spokeswoman said.
He also worked at Green Streets, a company that manages recycling and composting and provides janitorial services. The company operates at three low-income housing complexes in the city, including Bernal Dwellings on Cesar Chavez St., where Dozier was arrested.
The complex is a couple of blocks away from 24th Street, which runs through the Mission District and Noe Valley.
Dozier faces life in prison if convicted of all charges, according to district attorney's office spokesman Omid Talai.
Dressed in an orange jumpsuit with his hands cuffed behind his back, Dozier only said a few words during Wednesday's hearing, confirming to Superior Court Judge Gerardo Sandoval that he did not have the money to hire a private attorney.
The public defender's office is handling the case of Dozier, who was ordered held without bail until his next hearing on Friday.
About a dozen family members and friends of Dozier attended the arraignment but declined to speak to reporters afterward.
(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
