Brazen Sexual Assault Reported in Palo Alto

By Bay City News: 

Palo Alto police are investigating a report of a man who grabbed a woman's backside on El Camino Real on Tuesday after making a lewd comment to her.

Shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday, a woman called 911 to report that she had been the victim of a sexual battery that occurred on the sidewalk in the 3500 block of El Camino Real, according to Marianna Villaescusa of the Palo Alto Police Department.

 The woman, who is also in her 40s, had been walking south on El Camino Real's eastern sidewalk just south of Margarita Avenue when she saw two men walking together north together and heading toward her, police said. 

"After they passed each other, one of the men made a lewd comment to the victim and then grabbed her buttocks with one of his hands," Villaescusa said.  "The victim screamed, ran into a nearby business, and told the owner what had occurred."

 Responding officers were unable to locate the suspect, whom the victim described as a white man in his 40s with a ruddy complexion who stood about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed roughly 200 pounds.  He wore a brown flannel jacket and a dark-colored, square-shaped hat with a small brim, according to Villaescusa.

 The other man was described as a white man in his 30s weighing about 170 to 180 pounds with blond hair and a mustache, police said.

 Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Palo Alto Police Department at (650) 329-2413.

According to Villaescusa, "...there have been no other similar cases recently in Palo Alto."

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