Investigators seek clues in Petaluma rape case

One week after a Petaluma woman placed a frantic call to 911 reporting a brazen daytime rape by a male intruder who attacked her inside her home, police were still looking for clues that might identify a suspect, officials said.

Detectives this week returned to the Westridge neighborhood to interview neighbors and others who may have observed anything out of the ordinary on the morning of Sept. 18 when the crime was reported, Sgt. Ed Crosby said.

Crosby said that they collected a variety of forensic evidence and sent it to a lab, and that they are now waiting for the results, which could take weeks.

The attack occurred at an Eckmann Place home just before 8:45 a.m., police said.

The woman told officers she had just returned home after taking her children to school, and had entered a bathroom when a strange man appeared behind her, Crosby said.

He attacked the woman, restrained her and sexually assaulted her, police said.

He was described as a 6-foot-tall white man with a pot belly wearing a black shirt, blue jeans and black boots with a beanie hat pulled over his face, police said.

The attack was brief, and the woman called police soon after he left, Crosby said.

Officers fanned through the neighborhood. Police detained one man with a similar description but the victim, given a chance to see him, said he was not the man who attacked her, Crosby said.

Saddened and shocked by the assault, a group of concerned residents and advocates held a candlelight vigil Sunday night in downtown Petaluma to show support for the woman, her family and neighbors.

The sergeant said detectives have investigated a variety of tips that poured into the police department, but none have yet panned out.

“This is the stage in an investigation when things slow down, we plod through evidence and wait to see what the lab work shows,” Crosby said.

Anyone with information about the case can call Detective Joel Stemmer at 778-4532.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.