Authorities reached out to the public Monday for help in identifying a youthful assailant who jumped a 16-year-old girl in a neighborhood near the Sweetwater River last week and tried to sexually assault her.
The assailant, who appeared to be in his late teens, tackled the victim shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday as she was walking in the 2900 block of Prospect Street in the Lincoln Acres neighborhood just north of Chula Vista, according to the San Diego Country Sheriff's Department.
After the girl managed to fight off the attacker and run away, he chased her down, pulled her to the ground again and tried to sexually assault her. At that point, a witness intervened, and the assailant grabbed the victim's cellphone and fled to the east, toward a gas station on nearby Sweetwater Road.
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The victim suffered minor injuries in the assault.
The perpetrator is described as a roughly 5-foot-11-inch, 180-pound Latino with short curly hair. At the time of the crime, he was wearing khaki pants and a tan shirt with a torn collar.
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Anyone who might be able to help identify the assailant is asked to call the Sheriff's Department at 858-565-5200.
