A fifth incident of sexual battery in Westwood was reported
Tuesday amid increased efforts by university police to catch the
suspect responsible for a string of sexual batteries since Dec. 27,
2005.
The latest incident was reported Tuesday night but took place
Sunday morning. A female student was walking on the 400 block of
Landfair Avenue at approximately 9:30 a.m. Sunday when the suspect
approached her from behind and attempted to grab her breasts. In
each of the other four cases, the suspect has approached his female
victim from behind and grabbed her breasts before fleeing.
The suspect has been described as a white man with dark curly
hair, between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 11 inches tall,
approximately 150 to 180 pounds and is estimated to be
approximately 22 years old.
University police Wednesday released both a computer-generated
composite image and an artist’s sketch of the suspect based
on descriptions given by the victims.
UCPD does not know if the suspect is a UCLA student, said Nancy
Greenstein, director of police community services for UCPD.
Once it became clear the crimes were part of a series, UCPD
began “focusing deployment” in the area and attempting
to increase its visibility while on patrol, Greenstein said.
“The unusual thing about this is that it’s a
series,” she said. “Something like that you want to
address as quickly as possible. Anytime we have a series of crimes,
we put the extra effort into addressing it.”
She said some officers who would otherwise be working desk jobs
are now on patrols and the department also has investigators on the
case. But she said there are not necessarily more total officers on
duty.
Among their efforts to catch the suspect, police officers could
be seen Wednesday positioned discreetly behind trees that line the
path next to Saxon Suites.
UCLA has supported the investigation by allowing the posting of
fliers and the composite image of the suspect, said university
spokesman Phil Hampton.
“Safety of the campus community is always a top
priority,” he said.
With reports from Charlotte Hsu, Bruin senior staff. Anyone
with information related to the case is urged to call UCPD at (310)
825-1491. For more information on UCLA CSO Escort Services, call
(310) 794-WALK.