Girl escapes attempted sexual assault


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SALT LAKE CITY – A 15-year-old girl escaped from a sexual assault attempt early Thursday morning.

Around 6:40 a.m., a teenage girl was walking to school along 600 North near 1100 West when she noticed a man was following her. Near the gas pumps at Smith’s Food and Drug, the man grabbed her and pulled her down into the mud, according to police.

The man covered her mouth and held his arm around her neck, then attempted to sexually assault her, Salt Lake City Police Department reported. The teen fought back, escaping his grip.

"That's what we encourage people to do under these circumstances," SLCPD detective Dennis McGowan said. "Make a big fuss, fight back hard and don't give up. She did all that and was not injured, fortunately."

Police say the attacker was a thin Hispanic man in his 30s, approximately 6-feet 2-inches tall with a wide, acne-marked face, mustache and beard growth. He was wearing a black hoodie, a red beanie and black cloth gloves.

"We're asking for anyone who may have seen this, perhaps not realizing what was going on, to come forward and let us know what they saw," McGowan said.

Contributing: Morgan Jacobsen and Andrew Adams


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