Police search for suspect who sexually assaulted Arlington woman in her apartment

Arlington County police say they're searching for a man accused of breaking into a woman's apartment and sexually assaulting her in the middle of the night.

Investigators say the man broke in through a window at the woman's ground-floor apartment at the Ballston Park Apartments in the 3900 block of 4th Street N. at around 2 a.m. Sunday. Once inside, they say the man sexually assaulted the victim in her bedroom while threatening her with a knife.

During the attack, the 28-year-old woman was able to lock herself in the bathroom and yell for help.

"During the attack, she was very brave," said Ashley Savage, spokesperson for the Arlington County Police Department. "She saw an opportunity for her to separate herself from the male. She did so by going into the bathroom and locking the door. She took her iPad with her. She yelled for help. She screamed and she contacted other people through the iPad to get her help."

Police said the victim was able to look out a window in the bathroom and was able to see the suspect as he ran out of the building. He is described as a Hispanic man between the age of 25 and 35. They say he has dark hair and a fair complexion, and was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with dark pants at the time of the attack.

There are no surveillance cameras at the apartment complex and police said the woman was not able to get a good enough look of the suspect's face for a composite sketch.

Officers who responded to the woman's home tried to use dogs to track the suspect in the area, but they found nothing. Police also canvassed the area in an attempt to talk to potential witnesses, and they say they'll continue to do extra safety checks in the area where the assault happened.

Police said the victim had been out earlier in the evening, but was home for about four hours before the attack took place. investigators do not believe that she was followed home.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Detective P. Pena of the Arlington County Police Department's Special Victim's Unit at (703) 228-4183 or via email at ppena@arlingtonva.us. To report information anonymously, contact the Arlington County Crime Solvers at (866)411-TIPS (8477).