Westside assault case returns to square one

Deepa Bharath

Police on Wednesday dropped their case against a teenager arrested

last week in connection with a groping incident at a 7-Eleven, caught

on the store’s surveillance tape, officials said.

The 16-year-old whom officers arrested on May 6 was among the

group of people caught on tape at the 7-Eleven at the corner of

Victoria Street and Placentia Avenue, police said.

Police also said a man on the tape, believed to have touched the

same female customer, looked like one of the men wanted in connection

with a series of assaults on Victoria Street since December.

But officials had to drop charges and release the teen after the

man accused of “groping” said the incident was an accident. The

alleged victim then said she may have “misinterpreted” what happened,

Costa Mesa Police Lt. John FitzPatrick said.

“The tape shows this person crouching and doing something,” he

said. “But it’s hard to see what he did unless the victim tells us

what he did,” he said.

Last week, the woman told police that someone reached under her

skirt and touched her. But now, she is not so sure, FitzPatrick said.

“Also, the person’s face matched the description of one of the

suspects in the Victoria Street assaults,” he said. “But we have

determined that it’s not him.”

This takes police “back to square one” in the investigation,

FitzPatrick said.

“But we need to take a step back and reformulate,” he said. “We’re

looking for additional leads and we’re continuing our search for the

suspects.”

So far, 10 women have reported being grabbed from behind when they

were walking alone on Victoria Street since December. Most of them

were walking alone on the street when they were assaulted. One woman

was pushing her child in a stroller.

Costa Mesa police conducted two rape awareness seminars, one on

May 4 and another Thursday night.

Anyone with information about the assaults is asked to call (714)

754-5281.