Authorities were on the lookout Friday for a sexual predator who pulled a knife on a woman on a Cortez-area roadside, forced her to undress and raped her repeatedly.
Police released a sketch of the suspect and San Diego Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
The victim, who is in her 30s, had just left her workplace and was walking to her car in the 1600 block of Eighth Avenue when the assailant confronted her about 9:45 p.m. Thursday, according to San Diego police.
After displaying a knife and threatening to kill the woman if she did not comply, the umidentified man forced her to walk about a block to the north and down a footpath leading to the southwestern reaches of Balboa Park, near Marston Point. There, he ordered her to disrobe and raped her.
The perpetrator then made the woman walk back in the direction from which they had come, Capt. Brian Ahearn said. Reaching the 1600 block of Ninth Avenue, the man forced the victim into a spot behind some utility boxes outside an apartment complex and sexually assaulted her again.
Following the second attack, the assailant fled on foot. As he was walking away, a vehicle passed by, prompting the man to pull his shirt over his face, Ahearn told reporters.
The rapist was described as a roughly 5-foot-6-inch Latino in his mid- to late 20s, with a medium build, short slicked-back hair, a thin strip of facial hair following his jawline and a tattoo of the capital letters “L.A.” – – similar to the logo used by the Los Angeles Dodgers — on the inside of his right wrist.
The assailant was wearing blue Dickies-brand pants, a dark-colored T- shirt and black leather work boots, Ahearn said.
Anyone with information about the case was asked to call the SDPD Sex Crimes Unit at (619) 531-2686.
–City News Service
