Case # 15HF1112
Date: September 28, 2015
LAW ENFORCEMENT SEEKING PUBLIC’S HELP IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL VICTIMS OF MAN CHARGED WITH SEXUALLY ASSAULTING FEMALE JOGGER AND THREATENING HER WITH IMITATION FIREARM
SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) and Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) are seeking the public’s help identifying potential additional victims of a man charged with sexually assaulting a female jogger using an imitation firearm. Sean Luke Salaber, 22, Riverside, is charged with one felony count of attempted kidnapping to commit a sex offense, one felony count of assault with intent to commit a sexual offense, and one misdemeanor count of brandishing an imitation firearm. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of nine years in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration. The People will request he be held on $250,000 at his arraignment this afternoon in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. The time is to be determined.
At approximately 6:40 p.m. on Sept. 24, 2015, Salaber is accused of approaching 23-year-old Jane Doe from behind and tackling her to the ground as she was jogging on a trail near Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park in Laguna Niguel. He is accused of holding an imitation firearm to her head and sexually groping her as he attempted to drag her off the trail. The victim screamed and nearby bystanders scared off the defendant and contacted OCSD.
OCSD located the defendant in a residential neighborhood near Kite Hill Drive and Becard Drive within an hour and arrested him. OCSD investigated this case.
The investigation in this case is ongoing. Anyone with additional information or who believes they may have been a victim is encouraged to contact the OCSD Special Victims Unit at (714) 647-7418 or OCDA Supervising District Attorney Investigator Mark Gutierrez at (714) 347-8794.
Deputy District Attorney Vanessa Woods of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.