Attempted assault reported on Rodota Trail

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office is asking for help identifying a man suspected of trying to sexually assault a jogger on the Joe Rodota Trail Friday evening.

Deputies responded around 8 p.m. to the trail where a woman reported a man approached her from behind while she was running between Merced Avenue and Llano Road in west Santa Rosa.

The man allegedly grabbed the woman's buttocks and forced her to the ground while he made “statements that he was going to sexually assault her,” the sheriff's office said Saturday.

The woman told deputies she was able to fight off the attacker, who fled westbound on the trail toward Sevastopol.

The man is described as Hispanic, between 18 and 20 years old, thin build and with long black hair. He was wearing a purple sweatshirt, gray pants and black shoes at the time of the incident, according to the sheriff's office.

He is wanted for questioning in connection with an attack intended to commit rape.

The Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information to contact the agency's Domestic Violence Sexual Assault Unit by calling 707-565-8290. Anonymous tips can be submitted online through the Sheriff's Office Silent Witness Tip Line.

You can reach staff writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or [email protected]. On X (Twitter) @paulinapineda22.