Police say they’ve made progress toward catching the rapist who
attacked a 16-year-old girl on the Uvas Creek levee more than two
weeks ago, though no arrests have been made.
Gilroy – Police say they’ve made progress toward catching the rapist who attacked a 16-year-old girl on the Uvas Creek levee more than two weeks ago, though no arrests have been made.
The girl was walking north on the levee behind Gilroy High School about 4pm Tuesday, May 22 when a man snuck up behind her and hit her on the head with an unknown object. As he dragged her toward the creek and raped her, she lapsed in and out of consciousness.
A half-hour later, describing her attacker to Gilroy police, she remembered the ski mask he wore, his pale, thick hands, and the smell of Axe body spray. He was a white man in his mid-20s, roughly 6 feet tall and weighing 250 pounds, with nearly-black eyes and forearms clear of tattoos or scars, she told police. The man wore a white T-shirt, black jeans and black shoes. During the rape, he said nothing; afterward, he got up and fled. The girl immediately walked to the Gilroy Police station to report the rape.
Four days later, a 22-year-old woman reported a similar attack, by a man she said resembled the levee rapist. The woman was cutting through the Brownell Middle School campus at 9pm Saturday, May 26 when a man attacked her, hitting her head with an unknown object, then pinning her to the ground with his body, she said. She escaped by kicking him in the groin and running away.
According to the woman, the man had a shaved head, facial hair, and bruises on both hands. At the time of the assault, he wore a black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and black Adidas shoes with white stripes. The man spoke English, she said.
No sketch exists of either suspect: The 16-year-old girl met with a sketch artist, but the artist couldn’t complete a sketch because the man was masked. The 22-year-old woman has been unable to meet with a sketch artist, said Detective Sgt. Noel Provost.
Provost couldn’t specify what evidence police are reviewing, but said detectives had several leads they were actively pursuing.
The survivor of the levee rape was taken to the hospital, where physicians collected swabs as evidence. Such samples are usually analyzed and returned to police within four weeks, said Benny Del Re, director of the county crime laboratory. There was no DNA evidence from the second attack, because the woman escaped.
Anyone with information about either assault may call Detectives Mitch Madruga or Michael Beebe at 846-0350 or Detective Michael Beebe at 846-0333, or leave an anonymous tip at 846-0330.
