Palo Alto police are looking for a man who allegedly groped a woman after walking with her for several blocks along California Avenue on Thursday evening.
A woman in her 50s had been out for a walk in the College Terrace neighborhood around 6 p.m. when a man walking his dog approached her and engaged her in conversation, police said. She first saw the man walking with a dog on California Avenue near Birch Street. He approached her near Williams Street and the two walked together for several blocks.
The man starting making inappropriate comments to her, according to police, and when they turned right onto Amherst Street, he groped her private parts over her clothing. She took out her phone and he fled in an unknown direction with his dog, police said. The woman left the immediate area and called police.
Stanford Public Safety officers originally responded to this report of sexual battery at about 6:17 p.m. at 1711 Stanford Ave. After conducting the initial investigation, they determined that the incident actually took place in the 2300 block of Amherst Street in Palo Alto, and Palo Alto police took over the case.
Police said Friday that this case is not related to two other sexual battery cases that occurred in the same area last month; police arrested the suspect in those two cases last week.
The woman described the man as a white male in his mid-20s, about 6 feet 4 inches tall and 220 pounds. He was wearing blue jeans and a light blue, buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He has short brown hair and a closely-groomed beard. He had a tattoo on his right forearm with writing on it. The man’s dog was described as a gray and blue pit bull with white spots on each paw, police said. The victim estimated the dog was about 80 pounds. It is possible the victim may be able to meet with a police sketch artist; if that occurs, police said they will release the sketch as soon as it becomes available.
Detectives are actively investigating this incident and are working with deputies from the Stanford Department of Public Safety. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Palo Alto Police Department’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the department’s free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.
By Elena Kadvany
By Elena Kadvany
By Elena Kadvany
I recall a series of sex crimes committed by one or more subjects described as skinny young white men in the area south of Stanford last year (peeping toms, stalking, groping). Were any suspects arrested in those cases?
Spring has already sprung~ this guy apparently missed out and has continued his over zealous thinking of how to treat a woman. I just had something similar happen to me (and I am in my 60’s!). I couldn’t believe I was being singled out for what the perpetrator did (and suggested) that I took off running, with him in pursuit of me. I turned my head to see if he was still coming and tripped over the curb, landing on the asphalt face first, then breaking my patella of my knee in four places……….. Some other woman called 911 for help for me when she saw me lying face down and bloody. Ambulance picked me up instead of the guy who was after me….it was very unbelievable that it could happen to me. I spent a few months in the hospital recovery and still have not healed completely. Makes me think I will never go out after dark again and should be carrying mace in the day time. Sad to think I have to be “on guard” as I have read about a few other women running into these weirdos….