Police Search for Beach Rapist

By Anne La Jeunesse

Santa Monica police are looking for a man believed to have raped a transient woman early Sunday on the beach near the city's northern border.

The assault occurred about 4 a.m. in the 200 block of the beach, said Lt. Gary F. Gallinot, the department's spokesman.

"The victim flagged down a Santa Monica police officer to report the crime," Gallinot said. "She had apparently befriended the suspect in the downtown area of Santa Monica."

The victim told police that she and the man had walked around for several hours, ate dinner together and then, when they went for a stroll on the beach, she was attacked, Gallinot said.

After the assault, the man ran southbound on the sand, and the victim made her way to Pacific Coast Highway, where she flagged down the officer, Gallinot said.

The woman was not seriously injured and she was taken to Santa Monica-UCLA Health Center for treatment.

The suspect is described as white, about 25 years old and about 5-feet 5-inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes. According to the victim, Gallinot said, the man has only one upper front tooth and speaks with a southern accent.

The suspect was described as wearing a blue "Angel's" baseball cap, a dark-colored silk-type shirt, blue jeans and black boots.