SFPD Reports Series Of Gropings On Russian Hill

SFPD Reports Series Of Gropings On Russian HillPhoto: Geri Koeppel/Hoodline
Geri Koeppel
Published on August 03, 2015

Tipster Elise sent Hoodline a picture of an alarming flyer posted at 1150 Union St. in Russian Hill, notifying neighbors of "several attacks on females in this neighborhood," including one on the stairs on Filbert Street. As it turns out, the cases were gropings, not rapes, despite the flyer's headline.


We contacted SFPD Central Station, which issued this statement:

Investigators from the San Francisco Police Department Special Victims Unit are seeking assistance from the public in an ongoing investigation into sexual batteries that occurred in the Russian and Nob Hill neighborhoods. Victims have filed police reports regarding incidents of groping that occurred between the hours of 10:00 PM and 1:00 AM in both the Russian Hill and Nob Hill neighborhoods.
The earliest report was filed in February of 2015, and several other incidents have been reported in the subsequent months.  Officers from Central and Northern Police Stations, as well as the Patrol Bureau Task Force, have been working jointly to increase plainclothes patrols in an effort to apprehend the suspect(s). Uniformed police patrols have also been stepped up in these neighborhoods.
The victims have described the suspect as a male adult, in his late 20s to late 30’s, between 5’-06” and 5’-10” tall, with a build ranging from thin, to athletic to heavy-set.
Anyone with information on these crimes is asked to contact the Special Victims Unit at (415) 553-1361, the Anonymous Tip Line at (415) 575-4444 or Text A Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.

Central Station Capt. David Lazar told Hoodline that no rapes have been reported; all four of the most recent incidents, which were reported from July 15th–26th, revolved around a man groping women and grabbing their clothing. All of the women so far have fought off the attacker.

Capt. Lazar urged victims or those noticing any suspicious activity to call 911 immediately. "We are working tirelessly to apprehend this suspect. We've been working on these cases pretty much day and night since they’ve occurred."

The nearby Nob Hill neighborhood also dealt with a serial groper beginning last August, with the Bay City News publishing an SFPD-issued sketch of the reported groper last November. On March 8th, a man was reportedly arrested on suspicion of the gropings. However, the charges were later dismissed because the suspect, Victor Vasquez-Cid, 40, was working at the time of two of the assaults. In all, 17 women were assaulted over a six-month period in Nob Hill.

"I never heard this," said Russian Hill Neighbors president Tina Moylan, who is on the Community Police Advisory Board for SFPD's Northern Station and the board of directors of SF SAFE. "This really surprises me. I'm stunned. It's very concerning to me."

She said she planned to call the executive director of SAFE today, and try to get a forum together for prevention and resources. "I will make sure something happens ASAP," she said, adding that SAFE will have more information at their community table at Central Station's National Night Out, which is being held tomorrow night.