Police asked for the public’s help Tuesday in finding two men who groped a high school student on her way home in Santa Ana, and are also hoping to track down a witness who intervened and helped scare off the victim’s attackers.
“We’re hoping she comes forward because we need a better description of these suspects,” Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.
The 17-year-old victim was walking home from Valley High School about 5:50 p.m. Monday when two men — one on a bicycle and the other on foot — trapped her on a pedestrian bridge at 1600 W. Saint Andrew Place, Bertagna said.
“One from the front and one from the back, and she was on a bridge with nowhere to go,” he said.
The bicyclist grabbed the teen’s buttocks while the man on foot grabbed her from behind, Bertagna said. He held the victim while the bicycle rider grasped the teen’s leg under her skirt, the corporal said.
As the teen fought with her attackers, she was thrown to the ground, Bertagna said. A woman walking nearby saw the attack and approached the suspects, scaring them off, he said. The witness, however, did not remain the scene long enough to be questioned by police.
The suspect on the bike was described as a 30- to 40-year-old Latino man about 5-foot-8 to 6 feet tall, with a medium build, short spiky hair and a medium complexion, Bertagna said. He was wearing a faded, black, long-sleeve shirt, brown sandals, and was carrying a dark green backpack.
The suspect was riding an older blue-and-black mountain bike with an orange reflector under the seat, Bertagna said.
The second suspect was described as a 20- to 30-year-old man, who was wearing a white, short-sleeve shirt with blue writing on it.
Anyone with information about their identities or whereabouts was asked to call detectives at (714) 245-8378.
— City News Service