A 24-year-old woman has decided to speak out after being sexually assaulted during her evening run in a Rancho San Diego neighborhood last Wednesday.

The victim, who asked to be identified only as Michelle for privacy reasons, was attacked while jogging along Hilton Head Road near Emerald Point Lane at around 8:30 p.m. "I was confused and scared," Michelle said.

According to her account, she had been running for about a mile when she slowed down to catch her breath. While listening to music through her earbuds, the attacker suddenly approached her from behind.

"He pulled me back, basically put me in some kind of hold to pin me against his body," Michelle recalled.
The man then sexually assaulted her.


"It was from the back to the front. It lasted about five seconds, and then he let go," she said.

In shock, Michelle screamed and ran away. She briefly looked back and saw the suspect fleeing in the opposite direction.
"I was terrified. I think I screamed the whole way. The only thing on my mind was that I needed to get home," she said.

Once she was safe, Michelle reported the assault to the Sheriff’s Office. Authorities later released a blurry surveillance image of the suspect, described as a man approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing around 150 pounds, in his mid-20s, with short, shaggy brown hair.

The attack comes as authorities investigate a series of incidents in the San Diego area involving a man accused of groping female joggers and, in some cases, exposing himself.

Police said a suspect was arrested in connection with one of those cases, and the City Attorney’s Office is currently reviewing charges. However, the suspect description in the Rancho San Diego case does not match the one from the other incidents.

The traumatic experience has left Michelle emotionally shaken. "There’s definitely trauma. I don’t feel safe being alone when the sun goes down. I don’t feel safe alone," she admitted.

By sharing her story, Michelle hopes someone will come forward with information that leads to the suspect’s arrest. "I’m afraid he’ll feel more emboldened… He needs to be caught before something worse happens," she said.

This story was originally reported on-air by a journalist and shared by abc10NewsSanDiego.

https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/woman-shares-account-of-sexual-assault-during-evening-run-in-rancho-san-diego?fbclid=IwY2xjawMAkH9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHgoWOlZezeJDfSbVxWMIiBDsy6hWmJv_UvJXi5RP0nYzgfHJOv9lyGRvf4do_aem_jlrLqNKuP0m1QZLpQK6aog