Livermore man charged with rape of unconscious woman at SF bus stop
SAN FRANCISCO - Prosecutors charged a 41-year-old Livermore man Friday with raping an unconscious woman at a Muni bus shelter along a busy stretch of Market Street in San Francisco.
The district attorney's office said it will seek to detain Fidel Padilla without bail for the attack Wednesday outside the Westfield San Francisco Centre.
It began around 6:30 p.m. when riders on a passing Muni bus witnessed a man in dark clothing raping a 60-year-old woman at the bus shelter, police said.
The bystanders got off the bus and chased after the man, who disappeared into the neighborhood, officials said.
Police collected surveillance video and circulated pictures of the perpetrator, and around 1 a.m. Thursday, officers spotted a man matching his description on the 300 block of Golden Gate Ave., said Officer Robert Rueca, a San Francisco police spokesman.
Officers arrested Padilla and booked him in San Francisco Jail. He is due in court next week for arraignment where he will be appointed an attorney if necessary.
The victim is recovering and is expected to survive.
Padilla has a long history of crimes involving drugs and property crimes. He does not appear to have a history of sexual assault cases, records show.
Most recently he was arrested on Dec. 6 in Livermore for prowling and had an outstanding warrant with BART police in a burglary case. He was cited and released at the scene and prosecutors did not file charges.
Evan Sernoffsky is an investigative reporter for KTVU. Email Evan at evan.sernoffsky@foxtv.com and follow him on Twitter @EvanSernoffsky