San Jose sexual assault caught on video, confrontation leads to man's arrest
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) - WARNING: The video above contains content that some may find graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.
San Jose police investigators believe a man arrested for sexual assault may have victimized other women. His capture came after a Good Samaritan saw the crime unfolding and took action.
KTVU obtained cellphone video recorded by a passerby of the alleged sexual assault as it took place Wednesday in the middle of Downtown San Jose.
“My first reaction, I couldn’t believe it was happening in broad daylight. Right there in Saint James park,” said Roger, who asked that his last name be withheld. He recorded the video as the alleged crime took place on a park bench.
Roger can be heard yelling on the recording, “I have you on video, I have your face. And that’s called sexual assault." The suspect then got up off the victim and began chasing him. Roger said he then called San Jose police with officers arriving minutes later.
On a second video clip, the suspect denied wrongdoing while he sat inside a public bathroom in Saint James Park and refused to come out. Officers ultimately used tasers to make the arrest.
Forty-one-year-old Tacuma Bashir is being held at the Santa Clara County Main Jail and faces three charges related to sexual assault. Investigators said there may be other victims linked to Bashir.
“…The downtown area as you know is very crowded. Lots of people there. Our hope is there are no additional victims. But if this post helps bring in witnesses or other people who have been victimized, we want to address those issues,” said San Jose police officer Steve Aponte.
San Jose police said Bashir is an unhoused San Jose resident and has a criminal history. But they declined to elaborate. Witnesses said the victim, also an unhoused resident, was reluctant to talk with investigators about this crime.
"Ninety percent of the time in cases of sex assault, the person knows the other person. So they may feel I don’t want to see them get in trouble. They just made a bad choice. Or they may be very fearful about what this person can do,” said Erica Elliott, Sexual Assault & Prevention program manager for Community Solutions.
Bashir is being held without bail and is expected to appear in Santa Clara County Superior Court Monday.
Roger, who does community outreach downtown, is thankful he was able to make a difference. But he lamented, others didn’t take direct action to stop an alleged sexual assault as it happened.
“Maybe the next time they will after seeing this. Because it helped somebody,” he said.