SATELLITE BEACH, Fla.,None — Two women were sexually battered on separate occasions in Satellite Beach, police said on Wednesday.
One woman was walking on the beach near the 1300 block of State Road A-1-A on Sunday (see map) , just after midnight, when a man grabbed her from behind, pinned her to the ground and sexually battered her, said police. According to a police report, the man implied he had a weapon and told the woman to comply and she would not be hurt. After the attack, he ran down the beach in an unknown direction, police said. The 22-year-old woman did not give police a good description of her attacker.
"We have increased our beach access patrols at night and we always encourage anyone walking on the beach, or anywhere at night for that matter, to walk with a friend or carry a cellphone," said Commander Brad Hodge of the Satellite Beach Police Department.
Police said the second woman was walking down the 400 block of Coach Road near the intersection of St. Johns Drive (see map) early Tuesday morning when she noticed a man following her.
The man began running after the woman and tackled her to the ground, police said. The man was in the middle of taking off the woman's clothes when a car stopped at the intersection. He abruptly stopped his attack and ran east on Coach Road, according to the report.
The woman described the man as white, approximately 30 to 40 years of age with short dark hair and no facial hair.
We dont have specific evidence that points to one suspect responsible for both incidents, but naturally we are considering they may be linked. Our investigators are going through evidence recovered from both scenes and following up on several leads. We want to reach out to anyone that may have been in either area that can provide information that may help our investigation, Hodge said.
Residents said they are shocked and scared.
"Oh how awful. I'm shaking. That is so terrible," said resident Donna Capps. "You just don't think that will happen close to home close to you."
Please call the Satellite Beach Police Department at 321-773-4400 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.