Patrols boosted after sex assault

Police are searching for a man who broke into a Costa Mesa apartment and sexually assaulted a young woman early Wednesday.

He was caught on tape using the victim’s bank card to withdraw money from an ATM in Westminster less than 30 minutes after the attack, said Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Marty Carver.

The man broke into a unit at the Harbor at Mesa Verde apartment complex in the 2700 block of Peterson Place at 5 a.m. Wednesday. Threatening that he had a gun, the man forced the woman to touch herself sexually in front of him while three other roommates slept in nearby rooms.

The man fled the scene with three purses and an iPod, police said.

Police have released a sketch and a photo of the man and are hoping someone can identify him. Until he’s caught, police are increasing patrols in the area.

“We’ll be watching to make sure he doesn’t come back,” Carver said.

Police believe the man entered the apartment by removing a window screen and pushing open an unlocked window on the ground floor of the two-story unit. He awoke the 23-year-old woman while she was in her bed and told her he had a gun. The man forced the woman to masturbate while he watched.

“He just went up stairs, woke her and said ‘I have a gun; you’re going to do what I tell you to,’ and she did,” Carver said.

After being in the apartment for 30 minutes, the man left with several purses and an iPod. Surveillance tape showed the man using an ATM card at a Westminster bank at 6:06 a.m., Carver said.

The man did not touch the woman, and she never saw a gun. None of the other people sleeping in the apartment woke up while the man was inside.

The woman immediately called police, who searched the area. But they did not find the man.

A woman in the apartment complex leasing office said the complex does have a private security detail that patrols on foot. The woman, who would not give her name, said the management could not comment further about the incident.

Costa Mesa police said the incident is a reminder to lock windows and doors at night to prevent crimes of opportunity.

“We just want to tell people to take those opportunities away,” Carver said.

The suspect is described as a black man with medium complexion, approximately 25 years old, 5-8 and weighing 180 pounds. The man had a light mustache and goatee and was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, dark-colored jeans and black shoes.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Costa Mesa Police at (714) 754-5356.dpt.01-sexassault-CPhotoInfo2C1RHBS420060601j05l4pncCOSTA MESA POLICE DEPARTMENT(LA)Sketch of sex-assault suspect