A 15-year-old girl was groped in Palo Alto's Homer Tunnel in May 2016, and police searched for a man who grabbed her as she walked through the passage, according to the Times-Standard.
In the 2016 incident, the girl said the man approached her from behind and held on for several seconds before fleeing, according to the Times-Standard.
Police described the incident as occurring Monday afternoon, May 9, 2016; the girl's parent reported it to police at about 3:56 p.m., according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
The 2016 Suspect
The suspect in the 2016 case was described as a roughly 40-year-old Hispanic man about 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a short buzzed haircut and a goatee, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Detectives are investigating the case, the department said, and police noted that no similar incidents had been reported recently in Palo Alto. The statement did not indicate whether a suspect has been identified or taken into custody.
A Tunnel With a Troubled History
The Homer Tunnel, a pedestrian underpass near downtown Palo Alto, was the site of a May 2016 attack. Police searched for a man who grabbed the buttocks of a 15-year-old girl as she walked through the passage, according to the Times-Standard. The victim said the man approached her from behind and held on for several seconds before fleeing.
The suspect in the 2016 case was described differently — as a roughly 40-year-old Hispanic man about 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a short buzzed haircut and a goatee, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel. That outlet reported that detectives were investigating at the time whether the incident was connected to any other cases in Palo Alto or nearby communities.
A year later, in September 2017, a 77-year-old woman was attacked in the same tunnel between Alma Street and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation offices. According to Palo Alto Online, the man pushed her from behind and struck her twice in the head with a heavy bag; police had not located him at the time of that report.
How to Report Information
Anyone with information about the attempted sexual battery is asked to call the Palo Alto Police Department's 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Tips can also be submitted anonymously by text message or voicemail to (650) 383-8984, or through the Palo Alto PD Tips app, available on the App Store and Google Play.
