Sonoma woman assaulted on Fryer Creek walking path

A Sonoma woman was the victim of an assault by a strange man on the Fryer Creek Trail on Wednesday evening, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the Sheriff’s report, the 29-year-old woman was out walking just before 6 p.m. on Oct. 10, with ear buds in her ears playing music. Originally heading south, when she turned to walk north she “felt someone run up behind her.”

“As she started to turn around she saw a man approach her, immediately grabbing her buttocks then he attempted to put his hand up her shirt,” detailed the report. “She lifted her hands and prevented him from doing so. She then punched him in the groin and fell to the ground as the suspect ran north and then west toward Manor Drive.”

After receiving a call about “a woman on the ground crying,” deputies arrived on the scene and found the woman “visibly upset.”

The Sheriff’s Office said the woman was left uninjured other than a bruise on her hip from the fall to the ground. She did not need medical attention. She described her attacker as a Hispanic man in his 30s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, “chubby build,” with dark hair -- shaved on both sides and a curl in the front – with a mustache and goatee. She said he was wearing a medium-gray, long-sleeve hoodie and dark faded shorts that extended to his calves.

“The suspect also had a faint odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from his breath,” continued the report.

Deputies searched the area and, at press time, had not identified a suspect.

Extra patrols have been ordered for the various bike paths in the Sonoma area and Sonoma police officials are cautioning residents to be alert while using the paths, especially during hours of darkness.

Anyone with information should call the Sonoma Police Department at 996-3602.