Second Sexual Assault In Less Than One Week Near Berkeley's People's Park

BERKELEY, CA - A second sexual assault in less than a week occurred Tuesday near People’s Park and the University of California at Berkeley campus, police said.

A woman in her 20s was sexually assaulted shortly after 11 p.m. at the intersection of Dwight Way and Benvenue Avenue, less than a block from the park, a police spokeswoman said.

A separate sexual assault took place at 9:20 p.m. on Feb. 11 on Haste Street adjacent to People’s Park, spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats said. Police are still looking into whether the same person assaulted both women.

“It’s a high probability that they are” the same person, Coats said. In Tuesday’s assault, the suspect grabbed the woman from behind and assaulted her. Coats said it was not a rape. The suspect ran away afterwards. In the previous incident, the suspect grabbed the woman from behind, pushed her to the ground and assaulted her.

Coats gave four tips to avoid assaults. She said people out late should be aware of their surroundings, try to walk in well-lit areas, try to walk with friends and avoid texting or other distractions while walking. Coats said police don’t know whether the woman assaulted Tuesday was a University of California at Berkeley student.

The woman assaulted Feb. 11 was a student of the university, according to police.

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--Bay City News