A 17-year-old was behind bars at a juvenile detention facility Thursday, suspected of sexually assaulting another teen in the Lincoln Acres neighborhood in late July.
The suspect surrendered to the San Diego Regional Task Force Thursday evening, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
He faces the following felony charges:
- Kidnapping to commit rape or robbery
- Assault with intent to commit rape
- Assault by means likely to cause bodily injury
- Robbery
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Between Thursday and the alleged attack on July 26, the Sheriff's Department released surveillance footage and images of their suspect and asked the public for help in identifying him.
The alleged assault took place at around 3 p.m. as a 16-year-old girl was walking down Prospect Avenue near Sweetwater Road, the SDSO said.
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"She was able to fight him off and run away," Lt. Kevin Ralph said. "The victim says the suspect caught up to her, tackled her again and tried to sexually assault her."
The suspect was described as a 5-foot-11, 180-pound, man with medium-length curly hair. He was last seen in a tan shirt with a ripped neckline and khaki pants.
A neighbor told NBC 7 the suspect was spotted on their doorbell camera as he was approaching the dead end of Prospect Street. She said he looked over the highway, then he sat on the guard rail for a while before he went back down the hill and toward the area where the alleged attack occurred.
A good samaritan intervened in the attack and that's when the attacker ran off, according to the SDSO. Investigators say the suspect got away with the victim’s cell phone but police later found it.
He was last seen running eastbound towards a nearby gas station along sweetwater road.
The victim suffered minor injuries in the incident, police.
The investigation is being conducted by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department's Sexual Assault Unit.
