Police Name Man Suspected Of Sexually Assaulting Young Tourist

Submitted by Reset News Feed on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 2:46pm

Police have released the name of a man suspected of assaulting a young tourist in San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf neighborhood early this morning. The man has been identified as 18-year-old Christopher Dutel, a Southern California resident, according to police. Police received word around 2:30 a.m. that a juvenile girl, a tourist from out of the country, had gone missing from the group she was with, police Sgt. Daryl Fong said.

He said the girl had "voluntarily separated" from the group earlier in the evening. Officers searched the area and found the girl in the 400 block of North Point Street around 3:45 a.m., Fong said. She was with the suspect, who was taken into custody on suspicion of assault. The girl and the suspect were taken separately to a hospital to be treated for injuries that are not considered life-threatening, Fong said. Fong initially said the nature of the attack was still under investigation, but police said this afternoon they have determined the girl was sexually assaulted.

Fong did not have information about the group the girl was with or the circumstances of her disappearance. Dutel has been booked into jail on suspicion of sexual assault and false imprisonment, police said.

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