Police say they’re still investigating a rash of sexual assaults
by strangers this spring, but declined to give details, saying
further information could tip off offenders.
Gilroy – Police say they’re still investigating a rash of sexual assaults by strangers this spring, but declined to give details, saying further information could tip off offenders.
Gilroy Police Sgt. Jim Gillio said the results from swabs sent to the District Attorney’s Crime Lab in San Jose after the attacks had been returned to police, but would not say whether test results had helped the investigation. Nor would he remark on whether surveillance cameras at Gilroy High School, near the scene of one of the attacks, had provided detectives with any clues. No arrests have been made since the assaults.
Five sexual assaults were reported this spring in Gilroy, several in the area of Christmas Hill Park. Victims gave differing descriptions of the men who attacked them. A 16-year-old girl who said she was raped in late May near the Uvas Creek levee described her assailant as a heavyset white man about 6 feet tall, wearing a ski mask; a 12-year-old girl who reported another attack nearly three weeks later, behind the Pinnacle Health Care clinic, said her attacker was also a heavyset white man, but only 5 feet tall, maybe taller, with acne surrounding his mouth.
Victims of two attacks in April described their attackers as Hispanic men, one about 5-feet, 7-inches tall and weighing 140 pounds, the other 6 feet tall.
Police increased bicycle and mounted patrols along the Uvas Creek levee, criticized by some as a likely spot for attacks due to the thick brush surrounding the trail. Parks staff pruned back the bushes in June, responding to residents’ concerns.
The one good thing that resulted from the attacks was increased awareness, said Perla Flores, who handles sexual assault and domestic violence programs for the nonprofit Community Solutions. The agency cosponsored an educational event about sexual assault with Gilroy Police in late June, giving community members a chance to question advocates and detectives about the issue. Community Solutions also held presentations at Gilroy schools, teaching students about the myths and realities of sexual assault.
“This year has been extremely busy for us,” said Flores. “In one month, we helped eight sexual assault victims – most of them children. It was a good opportunity to raise awareness, and to tell people about the reality. The percentage of stranger rapes is very small.
“Unfortunately,” Flores added, speaking of victims raped by friends, family members or acquaintances, “it’s something a lot of people live with every day.”
