Police Ask For Help in Finding Choking Victim's Alleged Attacker

Police are still looking for information that could lead to the suspect who allegedly .

“The victim is pretty shaken up and traumatized by this,” said Sgt. Jose Cardoza, spokesman for the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s office.

The suspect, who spoke with a Russian accent, is described as a slender build white male adult, about 5-foot 4- or 5-inches tall with blonde hair wearing a green sweater with white lettering and blue jeans. In the police sketch the suspect may appear to be bald, officials said, but he is not, the suspect’s hair is very light.

The call to police came in about 8:40 a.m. Oct. 27. A female De Anza College student, whose name has not been released, was walking toward the Flint Center on the school’s campus when the suspect approached her.

The suspect casually started a conversation with the victim and asked her to help him locate his car in the nearby parking garage.

The victim agreed to assist him and as they were walking toward the garage the victim reports recalling the suspect paying her a compliment on her looks, Cardoza said.

The next thing the victim remembers is the suspect coming toward her and beginning to choke her. There are no known witnesses other than the victim and police are asking anyone who may have seen something to please come forward.

When the victim awoke people were standing around her asking her if she was OK and the suspect was gone.

De Anza College added additional security and increased lighting the day of the alleged attack. A message on the De Anza’s website from the school’s president Brian Murphy says the school was not notified by police of the attack until 3:45 p.m. that day.

Students, faculty and staff were then sent messages by email, text or voicemail alerting them to the incident, he wrote.

“And for the future, we will be working with the Academic Senate, the Classified Senate, DASB and those in Student Services to provide additional safety training for our students, faculty and staff,” Murphy’s message said.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Detective Bureau at 408-808-4500.  Those who wish to stay anonymous can call the Sheriff’s Tip Line at 408-808-4431.