Santa Clara police are seeking the public’s help in a manhunt for a rapist who eluded capture after a violent assault.
Around 1:30 a.m. July 13, Santa Clara Police Department (SCPD) dispatchers received a call reporting someone yelling at Earl R. Carmichael Park, located at 3445 Benton St., according to a SCPD press release. It’s just a few blocks west of Santa Clara High School.
Police responded to the call’s location. Upon arrival, police spotted an unidentified suspect running away. The man eventually jumped over a fence into a nearby condominium complex at the intersection of Benton Street and Pomeroy Avenue. Despite “significant efforts” at the scene, the man eluded capture and remains at large.
Google Maps shows two condo complexes at the intersection of Benton Street and Pomeroy Avenue — Pomeroy Green, located between 3200 and 3300 Benton Street, and Pomeroy West, spanning 3380 to 3440 Benton Street.
Scouring the area, police discovered a woman who had been the victim of a sexual assault. The release did not list her condition or even whether she was transported for treatment.
Out of respect for the family, police are not releasing details on the victim’s condition, Capt. Mike Crescini, SCPD’s acting public information officer, wrote in an email.
“Victim services and appropriate support resources are available to victims of violent crime, and the Santa Clara Police Department remains committed to ensuring victims have access to those resources,” he wrote.
The investigation is ongoing, and in the preliminary stages, Crescini wrote.
“Releasing additional investigative details at this point could compromise the investigation, so we are unable to provide further information regarding the suspect at this time, as well as the victim,” he wrote.
Investigators are asking residents and businesses in the area to review surveillance footage captured between 12:30 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. July 13. Even footage that does not appear to show the assault may help investigators identify the suspect’s movements before or after the incident.
Police ask anyone who was in the area during that time, or who has surveillance footage or other information related to the assault to contact Detective Sergeant Ogg at (408) 615-4823. Anonymous tips can also be called in through the anonymous tip line at (408) 615-4TIP (4847).
Police will release additional information as it becomes available. The Weekly will update this story if police release more info.
Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com
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