BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash. — The Bainbridge Island Police Department tell KIRO 7 that a suspect has been taken into custody in two sexual assaults that both occurred on Sunday.
At about 4:40 p.m., officers were called to the area of Madison Avenue South and Bjune Drive where a 53-year-old woman said a man came up behind her while she was walking on the sidewalk and groped her crotch and buttocks before running away.
The attack was witnessed by another person, police said.
At about 6:40 p.m., officers were dispatched to a report sexual assault that had occurred earlier in the day.
The 19-year-old victim told police she was attacked by a man in the area of Madison Avenue North and Ihland Way as she was walking home from Safeway at about 4:30 p.m.
The woman told police the man approached her and said something unintelligible.
She continued walking home. When she moved from the sidewalk onto a dirt trail, she was pushed from behind.
The victim struggled, but the man was able to push her to the ground and hold her by the neck.
Police said the man started to remove the woman’s pants, but when she hit him and bit his fingers he ran away.
Both victims described the attacker as a man in his mid-20s, 5 feet 5 inches tall to 5 feet 8 inches tall, with short black hair and a medium build.
Bainbridge Island Police would not elaborate about the arrest, only saying Monday night that a suspect was taken into custody.