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Man Sought In Robbery, Sex Assault Of Masseuse In Palo Alto

PALO ALTO (CBS SF) -- A man who hired a female masseuse from an online advertisement is wanted in connection with the robbery and sexual assault of the woman at knifepoint Saturday inside a Palo Alto hotel, police said.

The man had contacted the woman for a massage at a room at the Glass Slipper Inn at 3941 El Camino Real but after she arrived around 8:30 p.m., he produced a knife and ordered her to give him her money, police said.

When the woman, who was in her 50s, turned over her money, the man then forced her to commit a sex act with him, police said.

The suspect later left the room and brandished his knife at a second woman who was sitting in a chair and demanded cash from her, police said.

The woman had no money to give and the suspect fled on foot headed north on the east sidewalk on El Camino Real, police said.

Neither of the victims suffered injuries, police said.

The man is described as Asian in his 30s or 40s, 5 feet 5 to 5 feet 9 inches tall with a medium build and wearing blue jeans and a brown hooded sweatshirt.

Police obtained an image of the suspect from surveillance video taken at the hotel.

Investigators believe that the suspect had targeted the first victim to commit the crimes against her but did plan the attempted robbery on the second victim.

Anyone with information about the suspect is urged to contact the Palo Alto Police Department's 24-hour non-emergency dispatch line at (650) 329-2413.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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