The UC Santa Cruz Police Department has released a sketch of a suspect wanted in two sexual battery incidents that happened on campus, one on March 7 and another on Feb. 20, in an effort to identify the individual.
Based on witness descriptions, the sketch shows a light-skinned male in his early 20s with shoulder-length dark hair. The suspect was also described as about 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9 and was dressed in dark clothing, a black bandana and black-rimmed glasses.
Police said their investigation into the incidents is ongoing and they ask anyone with information about the incidents or who recognizes the suspect to contact UCSC police at 831-459-2231, Ext. 1. People providing tips can remain anonymous. Police have increased patrols in the area.
UCSC’s police department said it responded to an incident of sexual battery at College Nine/John R. Lewis College in apartment building A2 on Feb. 20. Weeks later, on March 7, officers responded to a second incident, a report of sexual battery with physical restraint, in the same residential college but at apartment building A1.
“In both incidents, the suspect fled on foot, and is believed to be the same individual suspected for both crimes,” police said.
In an email alert to campus on Friday about the March 7 incident, school officials said that a suspect approached a resident student from behind while the student tried to go into their room at John R. Lewis College.
“The suspect then physically restrained the resident and proceeded to commit a sexual battery against the resident,” the message reads. “The resident was able to free themselves and alert their roommate, causing the suspect to flee down the stairwell.”
The university is also investigating additional incidents of burglary and voyeurism reported in the same time frame. Students in three residential buildings, including John R. Lewis, reported seeing a cellphone used to record them while they showered in the communal bathrooms. Others reported their phones and or clothing being stolen while they showered.
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