SFPD work to identify sexual battery suspect in assault of minor at Golden Gate Park
SFPD work to identify suspect in GGP assault
SFPD said suspect may be responsible for another assault
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco police said they are following up on investigative leads following the sexual assault of a young soccer player in Golden Gate Park last week.
Investigators say they're looking for a suspect and protecting the park at the same time.
San Francisco police are narrowing their search for the man who sexually assaulted a young soccer player in the bathrooms near the polo field in the park last Thursday afternoon.
"This is very troubling, even. You know, as a parent myself, you don't know. No child should have to go through this," said Captain Kevin Lee from San Francisco Police Department.
Investigators said the Special Victims Unit is working on the investigation.
At this point, SFPD aren't offering a suspect description, but do say they're working hard, even using every bit of forensic technology available to help narrow down the search for a suspect.
"We have several suspects we're looking into," said Captain Lee. "Again, these are just suspects at this point. As our investigation proceeds, and we are able to get information back and analyze evidence, hopefully, we can pinpoint a specific suspect in this incident."
Police now say that same suspect may have been involved in an earlier incident.
"We believe it's the same suspect that was also involved in the incident on October 22," said Captain Lee.
"However, this was reported to us the day after on October 24."
Some park users said they've been following developments on the case. "It's very scary," said Samantha. "It's just something to be concerned about."
Parents said they'd warned their children about what happened here.
"I mean we've got an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old, and we are in the park all the time and definitely process to talk to our kids and remind them about being as cautious as possible," said Samanta.
Of particular concern to the community is the location. The field is used by athletes of all ages. College level triathletes train at the facility, and their coach said they're acutely aware of their surroundings.
"We always come down together as a group. If I am not able to be with them, they train together and watch out for each other," said Gina Kehr from the University of San Francisco.
San Francisco police are advising people to use the bathroom using the buddy system. They also say if something or something seems out of place in the area to contact the police and let them figure out if it's connected.
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Sexual battery of minor in Golden Gate Park being investigated by San Francisco police
Police in San Francisco are investigating the sexual battery of a minor that happened last Thursday in a Golden Gate Park restroom near the Polo Fields.