San Jose girl describes fighting off man in attempted sexual assault

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) - San Jose Police tell KTVU they are "aggressively" investigating leads to arrest the man responsible for two attempted sexual assaults.

The most recent victim is a 13-year-old girl who KTVU is not identifying. She was attacked in her west San Jose home in broad daylight Tuesday afternoon.

The assault was caught on surveillance tape, and the girl's parents and police are asking the public to help identify the suspect.

"All of a sudden, I see this guy on my doorstep and he tells me he's lost," said the 13-year-old who was remarkably composed as she described what happened.

The girl says she had just reached the front door of her house after walking home from school.

The man started asking questions that grew increasingly personal while apparently filming her with his cell phone.

"I knew he wanted something sexual. I had already unlocked the door... that's when I decided to run inside the house," said the 8th grader.

The video shows the man pushing his way inside. "He grabs me. I fight him. I smash my hand into his face. That's when he lets go of me," says the girl.

She says she looked quickly for something to throw at him. "I was really, really scared. He walks a few steps towards me. I thought he was going to jump and grab me."

But instead, he walked out the door. The girl locks the door, hides in a closet and texts her father, asking him to come home.

Police say the same man carried out another attack at the Mitsuwa Market on April 2 , also in the afternoon.

Investigators say the suspect followed a 28-year-old woman into the restroom and she fought him off. The man ran away before police arrived. But he was caught on the market's surveillance camera.

"We're very concerned and we need to put a stop to this immediately," says Sergeant Enrique Garcia.

The 8th grader tells KTVU she wasn't injured, but it has shaken her sense of security.

Her mother who asked KTVU not to identify her, says it was hard seeing what happened to her daughter on video tape. "It's a captive facing a predator. I think he's sick. He needs to be caught," she said.

"There's no way I'm ever walking home again, I no longer trust the outside world," said the 13-year-old.

She says the man had a strong smell of cologne and that he has a high pitched voice.

Police describe the suspect as white, thin build, and about six feet tall.

Investigators are asking the public to share the suspect image and information on social media so they can quickly catch the suspect.