Police: Man arrested after breaking into apartment, assaulting Santa Rosa woman in shower

A Santa Rosa woman taking a shower in her apartment in the downtown area realized she wasn’t alone in her bathroom and found a man on the other side of the curtain masturbating, Santa Rosa Police said Tuesday.

The 21-year-old woman yelled and pushed the man away.

He pushed her back and pinned her against the shower wall, Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Brenda Harrington said.

She continued yelling and the man ran. The woman then locked herself in her bathroom and called police to report Saturday’s 10:35 p.m. assault, Harrington said.

Officers responded to the Sonoma Avenue apartment, about a block from the police station, and found the man had entered through a closed, unlocked window.

The woman’s description sounded familiar to police. Officers showed her a picture of Paul Allen Turpin, a 22-year-old transient they’d repeatedly crossed paths with and who was distinct in part because of his 6-foot-7 height, said Harrington, who supervises sex crime and domestic violence investigations. The woman identified Turpin as her alleged assailant.

Officers searched for Turpin on Saturday night and early Sunday morning, including at nearby Doyle Park where he was known to camp. Officers found him at the small city park just before 10 a.m. Sunday, the sergeant said.

During interviews with detectives Turpin made comments connecting him to the crime, police said in a statement.

He was arrested on suspicion of assault to commit rape, burglary, false imprisonment and felony indecent exposure.

On Tuesday, Turpin remained in custody in the Sonoma County Jail with bail set at $50,000.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@rossmannreport.