Not a moment too soon for SF parents whose kids are heading out trick-or-treating tonight, SFPD has arrested a 19-year-old in the case of a girl who was dragged into a bathroom and sexually assaulted at Golden Gate Park’s Polo Field.
For SF parents and kids, it’s been a very tense lead-up to Friday night’s Halloween and trick-or-treat festivities knowing that someone who sexually assaulted a child last Thursday in a Golden Gate Park Polo Field bathroom has been on the loose and was still at large. But just hours before the trick-or-treating, the SF Police Department announced they have arrested the suspect in that assault, and they are confident he acted alone.
“The San Francisco Police Department poured resources into this case to get the suspect in custody,” SFPD Interim Police Chief Paul Yep said in the Friay morning press conference above, which starts at the 4:00 mark. “We take crimes against minors extremely seriously, and we will do everything within our power to make sure the suspect in this case faces justice.”
The suspect arrested is 19-year-old Dominick Valle-Buitrago, who is a San Francisco resident, though was arrested Thursday night in Pleasant Hill. Valle-Buitrago remains in custody on felony charges of kidnapping, sexual battery, sexual battery of a minor, and other charges.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said the final decision on all of the charges against Valle-Buitrago would be determined by this coming Monday, and he will be arraigned on Tuesday.
Valle-Buitrago allegedly grabbed a young girl, took her into a restroom, and groped her during a youth soccer practice at the Polo Field on Thursday, October 23 at about 5:30 pm.
There was word earlier this week that SFPD was investigating three different suspects. Though that only meant that they had narrowed it down to three different people who might be the guilty individual — they do not believe there were multiple people involved.
“We are confident that the individual responsible for this was the one individual,” SFPD Investigation Bureau commander Tom Maguire said at the Friday morning press conference. “We do not perceive any further threat to the community.”
Maguire added that the tip that brought the arrest came from one of the parents who was at soccer practice that day.
“The parents in the soccer community out in Golden Gate Park were very heads-up, very alert. They saw something, notified us, and that turned out to be the tip that broke the case,” Maguire said. When pressed on what that tip was, Maguire would only reply, “It was a tip that we took action on.”
The Chronicle points out that there were reports the suspect had approached a different young girl the day before, reportedly asking her where the bathrooms were, and whether she was in middle school or high school. Maguire seemed to acknowledge this, saying, “There is another report that was on file that we’re looking at as possibly connected, but a far less serious crime at that time.”
In response to all of this, SF Rec and Parks has stationed an additional ranger in the area, and an extra security camera has been installed.
Mayor Daniel Lurie added, “As a father, my heart goes out to the child and their family at this painful time. Your city is here to support you.”
Knowing the anxiety this case has caused since blowing into public view early this week, Chief Yep sought to stress a sense of calm now that a suspect is in custody.
“San Francisco is one of the safest big cities in the United States,” Yep emphasized at the press conference. “Crime is down 30% this year.”
Related: Sexual Assault of Child Reported In Golden Gate Park Restroom
Image: SFGovTV
