Suspect facing felony sexual assault charges after allegedly attacking woman at Orange Coast College

A 28-year-old Costa Man will face charges of sexual assault after being arrested Thursday on suspicion of chasing down and groping an Orange Coast College student as she was walking on campus the day before, Costa Mesa Police Department officials reported.

The department received a call Wednesday at 4:54 p.m. stating a male suspect followed the female student as she was walking near the Horticulture area and Technology building, according to a CMPD release issued Thursday.

Upon their arrival, officers could not initially locate the victim but learned a good Samaritan had observed the incident and confronted the suspect, allowing the woman to escape her attacker, the release indicated. The suspect fled the scene after he was confronted by the witness.

Police later located the victim, a 19-year-old woman, at OCC’s campus housing facility, according to the report, where she told them she was walking on campus when someone approached her from behind and forcibly groped her.

That night, campus security officials sent a notification to students, faculty and staff, alerting them of the sexual assault and providing them with the suspect’s description, officials reported.

At around 4:30 a.m. Thursday morning, security officers on patrol came upon a man near the campus’ Allied Health Sciences Building who they said matched the description of the assailant. The officers followed him to an area near Harbor Boulevard and Merrimac Way and contacted Costa Mesa police, providing location updates as the suspect moved.

Police officers arrived on scene and detained Alex Enrique Siliezar, 28, of Costa Mesa, the release stated. He was arrested and later booked at Orange County Jail.

The Orange County district attorney’s office confirmed Monday Siliezar was charged with one felony count of sexual battery by restraint and another felony county of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud or deceit for violating the personal liberty of the victim. Court records indicate Siliezar was scheduled for an arraignment hearing Monday.

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