Last week, the Chula Vista Police Department released a composite sketch of a man suspected of sexually assaulting several females on the west side of Chula Vista.
Since September last year, 13 girls and women have been groped by a man described as a light-skinned Latino in his early 20s with an average build and thin mustache.
In many cases, the attacker wore a hooded sweatshirt.
Chula Vista spokesman Bernard Gonzales said there is not a particular kind of profile for this person.
“It could run the gamut,” he said. “The profile can vary from a practical joker to someone who gets sexual gratification or violent gratification out of it.”
He also said these kinds of cases are difficult to solve because of the way the attacker sneaks up on the victim then quickly disengages before the victims realize what’s going on.
Most recently, four cases occurred between Jan. 14 and 17. All incidents have happened over a five-mile area including Broadway, Fourth and Fifth Avenue. The victims range in age from 15 to 57 years old and one victim said she was bitten on the buttocks.
In a press statement last week, Chula Vista Police Department Lt. Roxana Kennedy said the suspect “runs up on the victim and begins rubbing her breast, crotch and buttocks.”
Kennedy is the South district commander for the police department. She said there are a total of 17 groping cases that have been reported, 13 of which are potentially related.
Kennedy said that in each case the females were walking by themselves and a number of them were preoccupied.
Gonzales said anytime there’s a situation like this the concern is that the acts will escalate and become more brazen and violent.
“We don’t know that it’s just one guy,” Gonzales said. “It’s fairly rare to hear this is happening in a series of incidents.”
Kennedy said it’s important for women to keep their head on a swivel because it takes the opportunity away from attackers and make females less of a target. “If the suspect doesn’t see the opportunity available to them they’ll move on to another opportunity,” she said.
Kennedy said that leads from the community are key. “It’s a very quick incident and happens in a matter of seconds,” she said.
The police department reminds females of all ages to be aware of their surroundings, keep their eyes open.
“A first reaction may be to not look, but that’s probably the worst thing that they can do,” Gonzales said. “Because they can’t be a good witness if they turn away.”
The police department has put out notifications of the incidents as well as a composite sketch of the suspect on the city’s website, Nixle and Facebook.
“We are investigating the individual cases that occur,” Gonzales said. “These cases are being taken seriously.”
In March 2008, a string of sexual assault incidents involving a man on a skateboard occurred on the east side of Chula Vista in Eastlake. The suspect was never found.
