A woman walked into the East Precinct early this morning to report an attempted sexual assault/lewd act that happened shortly after 4:00 this morning in Cal Anderson Park.
The woman stated that she was walking through the park at that hour when she heard a man yelling for assistance. The woman told officers the man was stating he had been stabbed, so she went over to help. When she reached him, he stood up and produced a knife. According to the victim, the man then put the knife in his pocket and put his arm through hers, in an “escort” fashion, and the two of them walked through the park.
At one point the suspect pushed the woman against a tree and held her there with his arm while he attempted to masturbate. According to the victim, the suspect got frustrated and pushed her to the ground. At about that time, two men walking their dog came through the park. The dog ran over to the suspect and victim. The victim told officers that the suspect told the dog to leave, and the dog walkers came over to apolgize and retrieve their dog. At that point the woman got up off the ground and walked away with the dog walkers. She then walked to the precinct where she reported the incident to officers.
Officers returned to the park to search for the suspect and any potential evidence/witnesses. During their search, officers encountered a group of men in the park, one of which matched some of the descriptions of the suspect. The victim stated that the person was not the suspect. However, during the pat down search of the potential suspect, officers located a concealed sword, meat cleaver, and black Airsoft revolver. That adult suspect was arrested and booked into the King County Jail for weapons violation. Again, the person arrested in the park early this morning was not the suspect described by the victim.
The victim described the suspect as a white male, in his 30’s, approximately 6 feet tall, thin build, with bad acne on his face, bad teeth, short black hair. He was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and armed with a knife.
Officers conducted an area search but did not locate the suspect.