Mission Viejo Rape Similar to 2 Other Attacks

MISSION VIEJO —  A 21-year-old Mission Viejo woman was pulled off a sidewalk and raped, the third such incident in the area since May, sheriff’s authorities said Friday.

Deputies have intensified their patrols along Los Alisos Boulevard between Entidad and Cordova Road following the latest attack at 9:30 p.m. Thursday, said Sheriff Lt. Dick Olson. The woman told investigators she was walking east on Los Alisos north of Entidad when she noticed someone walking behind her. She turned but not quick enough to see the man’s face because he bent down to tie his shoelaces.

After continuing to walk a short distance, the woman was grabbed from behind and forced into a nearby wooded area, Olson said.

The woman called sheriff’s deputies from her home to report the attack, Olson said.

The two prior incidents were in the same area.

On May 17, a 31-year-old woman was jogging on Los Alisos Boulevard north of Entidad when she was pulled down a slope onto a field at Del Lago Elementary School, sheriff’s investigators said. But the man ran when she broke away and began screaming.

On July 15, also near Los Alisos and Entidad, a 16-year-old girl was grabbed from behind and raped.

The assailant is described as 22 to 25 years old, about 5 feet, 10 inches tall, thin with shoulder-length brown hair, and wearing blue jeans and white tennis shoes.

Sheriff’s officials ask anyone with information to call investigators at (714) 647-7000.