UPDATED VERSION
SPD Sexual Assault detectives and Department of Corrections (DOC) officers have identified a person of interest in a weekend assault on a woman in downtown Seattle. This person of interest is currently being held at the King County Jail for a violation of his DOC supervision.
Police began investigating the incident after a woman contacted an officer at the West Precinct on October 12th to report a man groped the woman as she walked down the street near Westlake Park.
The victim photographed the man before contacting police at the West Precinct.
A West Precinct officer documented the incident, including a detailed description of the suspect, but did not collect the victim’s photograph of the suspect at the time of the report.
The victim, understandably frustrated by the incident, pro-actively circulated a photo of the man via social media, along with an account of her experience reporting the incident. DOC officers contacted SPD detectives about the case after recognizing the man in the photo as a level III sex offender on DOC supervision.
Police are still investigating the case, but are working to confirm a connection between the man identified by DOC officers and the Westlake incident.
Anyone with information about this incident or any other similar incident should call the Sexual Assault Unit at (206) 684-5575.
