A suspect sexually assaulted a woman near the downtown transit center on November 4th. The suspect is at large.
On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, at about 12:30 p.m., Palo Alto Police officers responded to the Newark Police Department on a report of a woman reporting a sexual assault that had occurred on November 4th in Palo Alto.
The investigation revealed that, at about 7:30 p.m. on November 4th, the victim, a woman in her thirties, had been waiting for a bus at Palo Alto’s downtown transit center. An unfamiliar man approached the victim and asked if she could help him by translating a conversation with another man nearby. The victim agreed and followed the man to a nearby tree line. Once there, the victim realized there was no one else there, and the suspect gestured toward a knife clipped to his pants pocket and threatened to harm the victim if she did not comply with his directions. The suspect sexually assaulted the victim before fleeing on foot in an unknown direction. The victim went home and did not initially report the incident to police due to threats made by the suspect.
The victim described the suspect as a slender black male in his thirties, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black cargo pants, and a surgical-type mask.
Police are actively investigating this case. There have been no similar incidents in Palo Alto recently.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 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.
To read this release on the city's website, click here:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/News-Articles/Police-Department/Police-Investigate-Sexual-Assault-near-Transit-Center
