A woman waiting for a bus at the University Avenue transit station told Palo Alto police that she was sexually assaulted by a man with a knife, who is still at large.
Police said it happened at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 4, and the woman waited to report the crime because of threats made by her assailant.
She said she was waiting for a bus when a stranger approached her and asked if she could help him by translating a conversation with another man nearby, police said.
The victim agreed and followed the man to a nearby tree line. Once there, the victim realize there was no one else there, and the man gestured toward a knife clipped to his pants pocket and threatened to harm the victim if she did not comply with his directions. The man sexually assaulted the victim before fleeing on foot in an unknown direction. The victim went home.
She described her assailant as a slender black man in his 30s, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black cargo pants, and a surgical-type mask.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the police department’s 24-hour dispatch center 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.