Almost six months after the San Francisco Police Department began a search for a serial groper that had been menacing the Nob Hill area, they say they nabbed their man as he drank a beer in front of Grace Cathedral.
Last fall, SFPD spokesperson Officer Albie Esparza circulated the above sketch, saying that the person depicted had been walking up to women and grabbing their breasts from behind on the streets of Nob Hill.
"We know of several incidents, dating back to August, similar descriptions, and similar MO's," Esparza said last November.
"We're hoping that somebody can recognize him."
Well, somebody apparently did, CBS5 reports. According to the broadcast station, Victor Vazquez was drinking a beer in Huntington Park, the tony Nob Hill park across from Grace Cathedral, when he was spotted last Wednesday.
Lt. Edward Santos of SFPD's Special Victims Unit tells CBS5 that police believe that Vazquez would “walk up quickly, grab his victims inappropriately and then take off,” saying that in at least one case he lifted a woman’s skirt and groped her genitals before fleeing.
Citing ongoing identification efforts, SFPD is not releasing a booking photo for Vazquez at this time.
In a court appearance Monday, bail was set for Vasquez at $400,000. At present, he faces seven charges, including sexual assault and false imprisonment, for alleged attacks on three women.
There might be more charges to come, however, as police are now are working to link open cases dating back to August to Vasquez. Because of that, if you have any information on this case at all, you're urged to call SFPD's Special Investigations Unit at 415-553-9225, their anonymous tip line at 415-575-4444 or to text-a-tip to TIP411 with SFPD at the beginning of the message.
Previously: SFPD Seeking Nob Hill Groper, Man Who Tried To Molest Girl In Pac Heights Park