Livermore Man Accused Of Bus Station Sex Assault In San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A Livermore man was arrested early Thursday morning in connection with a sexual assault at a bus stop in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, police said.

Fidel Padilla, 41, was taken into custody hours after witnesses reported a grisly scene Wednesday evening. Padilla was arrested on suspicion of raping an unconscious person, jail records show.

San Francisco Police Department officers with the Tenderloin station arrived to a bus stop in the 900 block of Market Street around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday after several people reported a man in his 40s, wearing dark clothing, had raped an unconscious woman at the bus stop. One person in a passing bus yelled at him to stop, then people got off the bus to help the woman, police said.

She was hospitalized for unspecified injuries.

Police received video surveillance images of the suspect, then spotted Padilla in the 300 block of Golden Gate Avenue around 1 a.m. Thursday, police said. He was identified as the suspect and arrested, then booked into San Francisco County Jail, police said.

The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with information is urged to contact police at 415-575-4444, or text TIP411 and begin your message with "SFPD." Callers may remain anonymous.