A man was arrested by Santa Monica police after he allegedly climbed on top of a female sunbather and started “thrusting against her.”
It happened Tuesday around 1:30 p.m. on the 1300 block of Santa Monica State Beach, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.
Officials said Los Angeles County lifeguards flagged down a police officer to report that a woman had been assaulted while sunbathing.
The victim said an unknown man climbed onto her and started thrusting his body against hers. She and her sister were able to push the man away and get help as the suspect walked away.
The victim and witnesses provided a description of the suspect to police, who found a man who matched that description nearby.
The man was identified as Alonzo Dickson, a 25-year-old homeless man. Police said the victim identified the man they apprehended as her alleged attacker.
Dickson was arrested and faces charges for sexual battery with restraint, which is a felony.
Police say Dickson has no known criminal record in California, but has at least one pending criminal case in Washington State.
Detectives are looking into that incident as part of the assault investigation in Santa Monica.
Anyone with information about Dickson or the alleged assault is asked to contact SMPD Detective Nicole Murphy by email or by calling the SMPD Watch Commander at 310-458-8427.
Dickson remains in custody at the Santa Monica Police Department and is expected to appear in court Thursday.
The city of Santa Monica has made headlines multiple times this year for several violent incidents that took place both on the beach and surrounding areas, leading the town’s mayor to call for more police enforcement.
In June, another homeless man who is a registered sex offender was arrested for allegedly assaulting three women on Santa Monica State Beach. That man, 32-year-old Jawann Dwayne Garnett, was also accused of trying to drown one of his alleged victims and has been charged with attempted murder.
Garnett remains in custody without bail and is due in court next month, jail records show.