UC Santa Barbara police are searching for a man who groped a pedestrian in a frightening midmorning sex attack as America’s top party college is still reeling from an unsolved on-campus rape and strangulation that took place just week earlier.
Five days ago, the campus police department received a report of a fondling and stalking that occurred at UCSB’s West Campus, along an unnamed paved access road located between Slough Road and West Campus Lane.
The June 24 attack occurred around 11:30 a.m., as the victim was walking on the access road when the suspect passed by on a bicycle wearing shorts and a tank top, according to a warning to the campus published by UCSB police the next day.
The cyclist reversed direction, circling back twice on the asphalt path to ask the victim questions, before returning a third time to strike the strolling pedestrian on the buttocks from behind.
The man then peddled off, fleeing toward Tierra De Fortuna Park in the nearby student community of Isa Vista before disappearing. The suspect is described by authorities as a 35-year-old man of Hispanic or Middle Eastern descent, shorter and with a thin build.
A spokeswoman for UCSB didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
UCSB police in their warning urged students and staffers to avoid potential threats on campus and to get the attention of people nearby in cases if they think they are being followed.
“If you are going out alone, make sure that someone knows where you are going, who you will be with, and when you expect to return,” UCSB police added.
The June 24 attack came as USCB police have yet to identify the alleged rapist sought for strangling forcing sex on an 18-year-old freshman at her Tropicana Gardens dormitory on the night of May 9.
Investigators say the victim and an unidentified suspect met at a frat party in Isla Vista and did not know each other beforehand.
Authorities have not identified the suspect and the case remains unsolved, adding to anxiety within the campus community and prompting an emotional candlelight vigil where students shared their fears.
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As concern at UCSB continued to build, the victim’s family stepped forward publicly, urging expanded law enforcement involvement and warning that witnesses could leave campus with the end of the school year June 15.
The teens family has begged anyone who knows about the attack to come forward, but their attorney Tyrone Maho said the case remains unsolved.
The June 24 attack came two days after the start of the summer quarter at UCSB. Police and campus authorities wouldn’t say if the victim is a student.
