Video Shows Sexual Assault Suspect Follow, Attack UC Irvine Victim

IRVINE, CA — A woman was sexually assaulted on the UC Irvine campus Saturday afternoon, and detectives have asked the public for help identifying the suspect.

Irvine police released a surveillance video that shows a clear picture of the suspect: a Caucasian man in his 20s with reddish brown hair, wearing shorts and a gray t-shirt, driving a white Nissan.

The video shows him following the victim as she walks near Scholarship and Graduate by the Plaza Retail Parking Structure on UC Irvine's North Campus. He drives out of a lot, parks in the street, and waits for her to pass. He exits the car and follows the woman until she crosses the road, returning to the shops.

At one point, he appears to speak to her.

As she quickens her pace, he lunges forward and grabs her from behind, then flees toward his car, presumably in a 2006-2012 white or silver Nissan Sentra, police said.

The suspect was described as a possibly 5-foot, 10-inch white man in his 20s, weighing 160 pounds, with reddish/brown hair, wearing a gray short-sleeve T-shirt, black shorts, and black flip-flop sandals.

Anyone with information regarding the sexual assault was urged to call Detective Mudassar Mahmood at 949-724-7244 or email him at mmahmood@cityofirvine.org