PALO ALTO, Calif. - Palo Alto police are investigating a recently reported sexual assault of a woman who was attacked earlier this month.
The woman was assaulted on Nov. 4 but didn't report the attack until Wednesday because she feared retaliation from her assailant, according to police.
She told investigators that while she was waiting for a bus at Palo Alto's downtown transit center a man approached her and asked if she could help him translate a conversation with another man nearby.
She agreed and followed him to nearby tree line where there was no other person waiting.
The suspect then gestured to a knife clipped to his pants pocket and threatened to harm the woman before sexually assaulting her and then fleeing the area, police said.
The suspect is described as a slender Black man in his 30s who was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black cargo pants and a surgical mask.
Anyone with information can call Palo Alto dispatch at (650) 329-2413, send anonymous tips to paloalto@tipnow.org or send a text to or leave a voicemail at (650) 383-8984.
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