Man Sought In Sexual Assault Of 14-Year-Old Girl In San Jose
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) - Police were searching for a man suspected of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in San Jose on Saturday evening.
On Saturday, the victim reported that the man assaulted her shortly before 6 p.m. on a secluded footpath near Interstate Highway 680 after she let him use her cell phone.
The victim had been walking near a pedestrian bridge with a female friend, also 14, near Madden Avenue and Schott Street in East San Jose when the man approached, asking if he could borrow one of the teens' phones.
The victim's friend walked away from the area, then returned soon afterward to look for the victim. When she couldn't find her, the friend called police to report the victim as a missing person.
Around 6 p.m., officers met with the friend and called the victim's cell phone. The 14-year-old answered, telling officers that she was on the bridge and needed help, police said.
Officers found the girl on the bridge and spotted the suspect trailing behind her. The man quickly fled when he noticed the officers there, sparking a foot chase during which the suspect jumped a fence into the Grammercy Place neighborhood.
After several hours of searching the area for the suspect, who is described as a short, heavy-set Hispanic man in his early 30s with light facial hair, police were unable to locate him.
Police have issued a public safety warning to residents in the Grammercy Place neighborhood and surrounding area and are urging residents to use caution when walking alone or if confronted by strangers matching the suspect description.
Anyone with information about the sexual assault or the suspect's whereabouts are encouraged to contact the San Jose Police Department's sexual assault investigations unit at (408) 277-4102.
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