Santa Rosa rape attempts may be linked

Santa Rosa police are investigating similarities between a reported sexual assault Monday on a walking trail along Round Barn Boulevard in Fountaingrove and two previous incidents involving women who were attacked by strangers on Santa Rosa trails in February and July.

In each case, the victim described her assailant as a large white male in his 30s with characteristics that suggested mental disability or substance use, police Sgt. Terry Anderson said.

The most recent case occurred around 2:40 p.m. Monday when a woman on a break from work was taking a stroll along a paved trail northwest of Unocal Place near Medtronic Inc., Anderson said.

The woman was approached by a man who suddenly grabbed her and fell on top of her as she pulled away and lost her balance, falling to the ground, Anderson said.

He began to assault her, shoving his hand down her pants and lifting her shirt in what police say was likely an attempted rape.

But she yelled and struck back repeatedly until her attacker finally got off her and stood up with what the victim described as a “stunned” expression, Anderson said.

He then ran off down Round Barn Boulevard in the direction of Fountaingrove Boulevard, police said.

The woman later told police that the man was about 6-foot-2 and weighed 230 pounds. He was wearing gray shorts and a white T-shirt, police said.

The victim said her assailant had a kind of flat or “smashed in” face. He had wide-set eyes and other features that suggested someone with Down syndrome, Anderson said.

The case was reminiscent of a Feb. 22 incident in which another woman was attacked on a trail at Spring Lake by someone she said seemed to have diminished mental capacity.

The woman had just started running on the trail when she heard someone run up behind her, police said.

He grabbed her around the waist, but she was able to turn and look at him and yell at him to stop, authorities said.

The man responded, “OK, I will,” stopped and briefly retreated before coming back at her and attacking again, attempting to remove her pants, police said.

She broke free and ran away, but he again caught her, prompting her to scream for help, police said.

He appeared startled by this, the woman told police, and then ran off.

The woman later told police he seemed to be slow to understand her, as if perhaps he had diminished mental capacity, but when asked about it this week she did not recall his having features resembling someone with Down syndrome, Anderson said.

That woman described a brown-haired white man standing about 6 feet tall and weighing 200 pounds, police said.

In the July 14 case, a woman on the Santa Rosa Creek Trail between Pierson and North Dutton streets west of downtown was accosted by a man on a bicycle who shouted lewd remarks and groped her through her clothing, police said.

He was described as about 5-foot-10, with brown hair and an angry and agitated demeanor. The victim told police he appeared to be mentally unbalanced or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Anderson said there was substantial physical contact in each case - “enough that we would consider it an attempted rape.”

But he also said stranger attacks remain rare in Santa Rosa.

Police said the Sonoma County Alliance is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to an arrest in conviction of a suspect or suspects in the cases through its Take Back Our Community program.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call a tip line for the domestic violence/sexual assault investigations team at 707-543-4040.

Calls requiring a non-emergency police response should be made to 707-528-5222.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter ?@MaryCallahanB.