BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Bakersfield Police are actively looking for a predator who may be connected to three other sexual battery cases in Southwest Bakersfield. The most recent case happened Tuesday morning.
In the 8800 block of Hughes Lane, a masked man said to be in his 40s, sexually battered a woman jogging. Police said they have reason to believe this isn't an isolated case.
The suspect was described to BPD as a Hispanic male in his 40’s, 180 pounds, short brown hair, light complexion, wearing a gray T-shirt with cut-off sleeves, black shorts, and a black mask.
Sgt. Pair with the BPD has reason to believe that there may be a relation with three previous sexual battery cases that occurred in the southwest part of town this past month: one on August 31st, September 1st, and September 4th.
“There’s some discrepancy of the description of the suspect, however, the fact pattern of how the events transpired is consistent enough to definitely point us in the direction that potentially. They are related," said Pair.
Two of those cases also involved female joggers. But whether it’s the same man cannot be confirmed at this time.
“That’s fairly unusual by itself. It’s not something we usually encounter. The commonalty itself is a cause for concern and it’s an avenue for investigation.”
In Tuesday's case Sgt. Pair said the suspect tried to grope and remove the woman’s clothing, but she was able to break free, and he fled.
The police told 23ABC they do not want people to live in fear but recommend that joggers take precautions. BPD is reminding residents not to jog alone, avoid running in secluded areas, make sure you're aware of your surroundings, wear bright colored athletic clothing and try jogging when there are more people in the area.
“There’s definitely times of morning where there are fewer people around. You want to expose yourself to as many people being around as possible so that you can mitigate being alone with an attacker.”
The department said officers will be actively patrolling the area where these attacks occurred.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to call the Bakersfield Police Department at (661) 327-7111.
23ABC will keep you updated on the case as information develops.
