3 days after sex assault of sleeping girl in Linda Vista, a prowler — possibly the same man — appears at home

Three days after an intruder sexually assaulted a young girl who had been sleeping inside a home in Linda Vista military housing, a man matching the intruder's description returned early Sunday morning to the same home and broke into the garage and side yard, San Diego police said.

Investigators couldn't say for certain whether the man captured on security camera footage around 3:25 a.m. Sunday at the Wellington Street home was the same man who attacked the girl about 72 hours earlier, but they emphasized how closely he matched the description of Thursday's intruder provided by the victim's family.

Police are seeking help to identify the man seen Sunday, who did not get inside of the home.

Police said the family described Thursday's intruder as White or Latino, standing about 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing about 170 pounds, and wearing a dark jacket and dark pants. The man seen Sunday — captured by security cameras that the family installed after Thursday's assault — appeared to be a dark haired Latino in his early 20s. He wore a dark hooded sweatshirt with lighter color printing down the left sleeve and an unknown image on the front. He wore light colored sweatpants and dark shoes and was carrying a backpack. He also had a bicycle.

"We'd like the public to take a look at the flyer; if they've seen the individual, know of him or they have surveillance footage from their own cameras of him in the neighborhood, we would like to know that," San Diego police Lt. Michael Swanson from the child abuse unit said Sunday. "We're trying to identify and locate that individual."

Swanson said the man seen at the home Sunday "is a complete unknown person" to the family, who learned about his early morning intrusion into the garage and yard when they awoke and reviewed overnight surveillance footage.

Navy officials confirmed this week that the residence near Kearny High School is Navy housing, but said San Diego police are handling the investigation.

Thursday's assault occurred around 1:45 a.m. when the intruder slipped in through an unlocked door, assaulted the child and left. Swanson declined Sunday to elaborate on the details of the assault. He described the victim as a "young female juvenile who was sleeping."

Swanson said investigators are trying to determine if any neighbors captured relevant images Thursday. "We don't have any images that we can conclusively link to the crime, but we are processing physical evidence," the lieutenant said. "We are working through our lab to work that side of the case."

Swanson said it would "not be common" for an assault suspect like the one from Thursday, who has no apparent connection to the home or family, to return to the scene of the crime three days later, if that is what happened Sunday.

Police are asking anyone with information about the incidents or anyone who might have video surveillance from that area to contact the department's child abuse unit at (619) 531-2210 or non-emergency line at (619) 531-2000.

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.

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