A Morgan Hill woman told police she was raped by a man she did not know on Monday, April 28 just before 7 p.m. in the area of Monterey Road at Old Monterey Road.
She told officers that as she was walking northbound on Monterey Road, a man came up behind her and pushed her down an embankment. He hit her with something, she said, but wasn't sure what it was, then raped her and ran away towards Cochrane Road.
The woman called 911 with a passerby's cell phone.
Morgan Hill police Cmdr. David Swing said information about the alleged rape was released to the public Thursday evening, 10 days after the incident, for several reasons.
"Obviously a rape or a sexual assault is a very traumatic incident for the victim involved, as well as a potentially concerning matter for the community as well," he said. "We had to balance between notifying the community about a potential risk with the needs of the victim and other areas of concern. We conducted the initial interview and evidence collection the night the incident occurred, but we had additional questions we needed to have answered before releasing information to the public. Unfortunately, it took us longer than we would have liked to have a second conversation with the victim and complete the suspect sketch. In a perfect world, we would like to have released the information the day after it occurred."
Morgan Hill police Special Operations Sgt. Jerry Neumayer said the department does not have a written policy regarding releasing information to the media. He said it is a case-by-case basis, depending on how far along the investigation is, how reliable the information is and other factors.
"We want to be sure we release the best possible information," he said.
The man is described as white, between 5 feet 9 inches and 6 feet tall, with a "scruffy" beard, short sandy-colored hair and a thin face. She also told officers the man's eye sockets are recessed, and his eyes are either dark blue or green. He was wearing blue jeans and a gray hooded sweatshirt at the time of the incident.
It is the policy of the Times not to name victims of sexual assault.
"Anytime an incident like this happens, it raises the alarm and concern for the local community," said Lisa De Silva, director of development for Community Solutions. "That can be a healthy thing if it propels people to take more precautions, things such as being aware of their surroundings, not to be distracted while walking. I see people using their cell phones, and it's harder to be aware of your surroundings. Also, never being shy about calling attention to yourself when you need help, whether that means yelling, fighting back when possible. But that's not always something you can do. Whether you did something and it didn't work or whether you did nothing out of fear, the ultimate goal is to survive, and the blame only falls on the person who perpetrated the crime."
The last time a violent sex crime was reported in Morgan Hill was over Labor Day weekend last year when a teenage girl was raped by two 17-year-old boys she knew. Gilroy had a series of rapes and sexual assaults in June 2007.
Community Solutions has a 24-hour crisis line (779-2115) for victims of rape and violence.
Anyone with information about the incident or the suspect is asked to contact Morgan Hill police Det. Kevin Beilmann at 779-2101 or Crime Stoppers at 408-947-STOP.
Marilyn Dubil Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or send her an email.
