Woman sexually assaulted in Palo Alto today; suspect at large

By the Daily Post staff

A woman walking on Everett Avenue early this morning (Jan. 7) was sexually assaulted by a man who asked her for money, police said tonight in a statement. Her assailant is at large.

At about 4 a.m., the victim was walking westbound on the south side of the 100 block of Everett Avenue, and as she approached her car, a man walked up and asked if she could spare any change, police said.

She said she could and reached into her car to get some change. Then the man struck her first on the back and a second time on the back of her head with an unknown object, police said.

Then he sexually assaulted her, according to police.

She screamed and fought back. The man then reached into her jacket pocket and took her wallet. He ran eastbound on Everett Avenue before turning north on Emerson Street.

The victim drove herself to the police station. Paramedics from the fire department went to the police station to treat the victim, who reported pain to the back of her head.

Description

She said her attacker was a white male in his late 20s to mid-30s, about 5-feet-11, with a tall skinny build. She said he had brown or dirty blond hair and an unkempt beard, with a beanie with a pompon on top. Police said that if possible, they’ll put out a sketch of the attacker.

Police said that sex assaults committed by strangers are “exceptionally rare” in Palo Alto. However, this is the third case in three weeks.

“With arrests promptly made in the first two cases, detectives are certain there is no connection between the three incidents,” police said in a statement.

On Jan. 2, police arrested Daniel Eduardo Alvarez, 38, of East Palo Alto, who is accused of assaulting a woman who was walking in the 2500 block of El Camino Real on Dec. 30. On Dec. 22, police arrested Marcelo Garcia Martinez, 28, a transient, who grabbed a woman on Castilleja Avenue in the Southgate neighborhood on Dec. 22.

Anyone with information about today’s incident is asked to call police at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to [email protected] or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.