SAN RAFAEL – According to a Press Release issued by the San Rafael Police Department (SRPD), their dispatch center had received a report on the night of Thursday, May 28 from a concerned citizen regarding a woman being dragged by a man on Mission Avenue near Hetherton Street. The witness reporting the scene believed that the woman was intoxicated and that she was not able to care for herself.
Officers responded but could not find the woman in the vicinity of the reported location. Officers had decided to check a several block area by car and by foot. Officer Tom Sabido was on foot when he heard the sound of a person possibly in distress nearby. He found the suspect sexually assaulting the victim near Pacheco Street, at the bike path that connects North San Rafael and the Downtown area. He immediately detained the suspect and called for assistance.
Officers brought the victim to the hospital where she was treated. They learned from her that she had been acquainted with the suspect; however they were not in a current, nor had they been in a past dating relationship. SRPD also determined that the victim had been too intoxicated to give consent.
The suspect was subsequently arrested and booked for sexual assault. He was identified as Edward Carlos Hernandez, a 19-year-old resident of San Rafael. He has been charged with sexual assault of an intoxicated or drugged victim, as well as sexual assault with a foreign object. He was booked at the Marin County jail, and bail has been set at $100,000.
