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San Mateo police arrest rape suspect accused of sexually assaulting 62-year-old woman
San Mateo Police Department have identified and arrested a rape suspect, after putting out calls to the public to check surveillance cameras for evidence. A 27-year transient with ties to Redwood City was taken into custody on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the victim has suffered brain trauma and has a long road to recovery.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - The San Mateo Police Officers' Association has raised over $100,000 for a rape victim in her 60s, the union said Friday.
The police union set up a GoFundMe page and other fundraisers to collect money for the woman, who is sole provider for two young boys and her 90-year-old mother.
On Tuesday, detectives of the San Mateo Police Department arrested Alejandro Vanegas Guevara, a 27-year-old Redwood City resident, on suspicion of a rape that occurred the evening of Aug. 5.
The woman "had been seriously beaten and then raped at a bus stop after leaving work," the San Mateo police union said on its website. "The seriousness of her injuries has her fighting for her life at a local trauma center."
Officers were called to a sexual assault report at 10:40 p.m. at South El Camino Real and Ninth Avenue, where the found the victim. Guevara is in custody at the San Mateo County Main Jail as detectives continue to investigate the case.
"This heinous crime has shaken our community, however, the support she's receiving is the silver lining. We will be advocating for aggressive prosecution of the suspect, and have confidence he will be given the highest possible sentence afforded to him under California law," SMPOA President Rory McMilton said in a statement on Friday.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Detective Sgt. Lee Violett at (650) 522-7662 or lviolett@cityofsanmateo.org. Anonymous tips can be submitted to http://tinyurl.com/SMPDTips or by calling (650) 522-7676.
For more information about the fund, visit https://sanmateopoa.org/crime-survivor-fund