Man Charged in Attempted Rape of Jogger

A 22-year-old Riverside man was charged today with attempting to sexually assault a woman jogging in a Laguna Niguel park.

Sean Luke Salaber, who was arrested Thursday night, is charged with attempted kidnapping to commit a sex offense and assault with intent to commit a sex offense, both felonies, as well as brandishing a replica gun, a misdemeanor.

Salaber, who’s being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, listed his occupation as National Guardsman in jail records. He is ex-military, but it’s not immediately clear which branch he served in, according to Orange County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock.

The woman, whose name was withheld, was attacked in a portion of Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park that is in unincorporated county land near Laguna Niguel about 6:40 p.m. Thursday.

She said she was running on the trails when her attacker tackled her from behind and held a weapon to her head and groped her, Hallock said. Investigators later recovered the weapon, which was an air gun, he said.

As the woman shouted for help, her attacker held the air gun to her head, Hallock said. At some point, the suspect was scared off by a bystander responding to the shouts for help, he said.

Salaber was arrested about a quarter-mile from the park near Kite Hill Drive and Becard Drive, Hallock said.

His booking mug shot resembled a sketch of a suspect wanted for sexual assaults, including one involving a 14-year-old girl in Riverside, but investigators later determined there was no link, Hallock said.

City News Service