A man was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman jogging in a Claremont park, a crime that occurred about an hour after he tried to assault a woman in Rancho Cucamonga, authorities said Wednesday.
Jacob Latham, 24, of Rancho Cucamonga, was arrested on Monday afternoon, and he was booked on suspicion of assault with intent to commit rape, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Latham was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday in Rancho Cucamonga, the sheriff’s department reported.
The Claremont crime occurred about 7 a.m. Monday at Blaisdell Park, 440 S. College Ave. when a man approached a women from behind and shoved her to the ground, the Claremont Police Department reported.
The woman, identifying herself only as Murphy, told reporters she immediately started screaming.
“He … put his hand over my mouth, and so I bit him as hard as I could,” she said.
The mother of a 6-year-old girl said she wasn’t immediately clear of the nature of the attack.
“I mean, I didn’t have a clear certainty that it was a sexual assault until he started pulling my pants down,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh no, this is not what’s happening.’ So I was trying as best I could to defend myself and get away.”
She said she could feel his hips thrusting against her while she was on the ground, and she managed to push him away.
About an hour before that crime, a woman was assaulted in the city of Rancho Cucamonga, Claremont Police said.
“The suspect described in that case was similar in build and was wearing the same clothing,” Claremont Police said.
“Follow-up by San Bernardino (County) sheriff’s detectives developed a suspect in their case, and (they) made an arrest,” police said.
“Clothing was recovered from the suspect that matched both victims’ statements,” police said. “On Tuesday … Claremont Police detectives interviewed Latham, and his statements positively linked him to the Claremont assault,” according to police.
—City News Service