Police Investigating Second Sexual Battery Case in Two Days

Published on August 10, 2021

Palo Alto, CA – Police are investigating a second sexual battery case in two days, where a bicycling male suspect groped a woman on a sidewalk.

On Monday, August 9, 2021, at about 2:22 p.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a call from a woman reporting she had been the victim of a sexual battery in the 500 block of Sand Hill Road, near the Stanford Shopping Center.  Officers responded immediately but could not locate the suspect.

The investigation revealed that the victim, a woman in her forties, had been standing on the sidewalk on the southwest corner of Sand Hill Road at Plum Lane.  She suddenly felt someone’s hand touch her lower back, buttocks, and then breasts in one swift movement.  She cried out and turned to see who had touched her, and saw a bicyclist riding away from her.  He called back to her, “Get out of the way!” as he rode away eastbound on the south side of Sand Hill Road.

The victim described the suspect as a bald, six-foot tall white male in his fifties with a muscular build.  She said he was shirtless but was wearing blue shorts.  He had a tan skin.  She said he was riding a black road bike.  On August 10, a police artist worked with the victim to produce the attached sketch of the suspect.

This case occurred two days after a woman in her sixties was sexually battered by a bicycling suspect in the 400 block of Middlefield Road.  Police distributed a news release on that case on August 9.  Detectives are investigating the cases, including whether the same suspect may be responsible for both incidents.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413.  Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.