Man Arrested In Connection With East Palo Alto Sexual Assault

EAST PALO ALTO, CA — Video surveillance and license plate readers led to the arrest of a 19-year-old man in connection with an alleged sexual assault, East Palo Alto police said Friday.

An officer on patrol encountered a distraught woman on Newell Road about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said in a press release.

The woman told the officer she had just been sexually assaulted while she was walking home. She said her attacker fled in a car.

"Officers were able to identify the suspect vehicle using video surveillance and the Flock Safety network, which tracked the suspect vehicle to the City of Mountain View," police said.

Flock Safety's video cameras can read the plate of vehicles and identify their make and model. The data can be stored so that a vehicle's location can be traced after the fact.

On Friday, East Palo Alto detectives located the alleged suspect vehicle and questioned a man who entered it, police said.

Steven Torres, 19, of Mountain View, was booked into the San Mateo County Jail. He was accused of sexual battery and assault with the intent to commit felony sex crimes, police said.

An investigation found that the victim and the suspect had never met prior to the alleged crime, police said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Detective Sgt. Jose Luaorozco of the East Palo Alto Police Department Criminal Investigation Division at jluaorozco@cityofepa.org or (650) 853-3160.

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