Features

Sex Assault Suspects Still at Large

By Riya Bhattacharjee
Tuesday October 02, 2007

The Berkeley Police Department (BPD) is looking for two men who sexually assaulted a 27-year-old woman early Friday morning. 

The attacked occurred in a private parking lot just east of the Top Dog restaurant on Durant Avenue, said UC Assistant Police Chief Mitch Celaya. 

The assault wasn’t reported for another 12 hours, according to police records. 

Celaya said that although the victim had called UCPD first, the case had been forwarded to BPD since the parking lot fell under their jurisdiction. 

“Berkeley police thought that it happened at a campus parking lot, but that was not the case,” he said.  

Celaya did not specify the nature of the sexual attack nor the gender of the victim, but Berkeley Police Lt. West Hester was able to provide the additional detail. 

According to Celaya, the victim met the suspects at a local bar in the South Campus area.  

After leaving the bar near closing time early Friday morning, the victim was sexually assaulted, after which she was able to flee. 

The victim described one of the suspects as a 22- to 25-year-old light-complected black male, 5’10” to 6’ in height, 160 pounds, with an athletic build, brown eyes, medium length black hair, and wearing a dark top and light-colored pants. 

The second suspect was described as a dark-complected black male, 22 to 25 years old, 140 pounds, with short black hair and brown eyes, and wearing a light-colored shirt and dark pants.  

Both suspects spoke English with distinctive foreign accents, and they were driving a late ’90’s small foreign sedan. 

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call the Berkeley Police Department at 981-5900.