Stranger arrested after sexually assaulting 75-year-old woman at 4S Ranch home

A 75-year-old woman suffered sexual assault in her 4S Ranch home Thursday morning, and the suspect – a stranger to the victim – was arrested hours later, said San Diego County sheriff’s Sgt.

At about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, a man knocked on the door of her Carmel Valley Road home and asked the woman if her dogs needed washing. The dogs were in the yard of the property, Sgt. – Marcello Orsini said on Friday.

“They started talking and eventually the man was invited into the house,” Orsini said in a press release.

After entering the residence, the stranger committed sexual violence. Orsini said the woman’s caretaker, who was also in the house, stopped the attack. The man jumped into the car and fled.

The investigation was conducted by sheriff’s deputies from the 4S Ranch Sheriff’s Substation and the sheriff’s Fraud and Elder Abuse Unit. They identified the suspect based on the vehicle in which the attacker drove off, as well as a series of photos.

Less than eight hours later, officers contacted the suspect, a 52-year-old man, when he returned to his home in Solana Beach. Orsini said the man was driving the same car in which the attacker fled the scene.

The suspect was booked into the Vista Detention Center on charges of sexual assault and elder abuse.