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Woman Attacked While Jogging In Claremont Fights Back

CLAREMONT (CBSLA.com) — Police asked for the public's help Monday to locate a man suspected in a brazen attack on a female jogger in Blaisdell Park.

Officers were sent to the 400 block of South College Avenue around 7 a.m. for a report of a sexual assault.

A preliminary investigation revealed the victim had been jogging through the park when an unknown man approached her from behind.

"I started screaming and he put his hand up, put his hand over my mouth, and so I bit him as hard as I could," said the mother of a 6-year-old, who asked to be identified as Murphy.

She said the man then attempted to pull her pants down and slap her backside, prompting her to kick and scream as loud and hard as she could.

"I didn't have a clear certainty that it was a sexual assault until he started pulling my pants down and I'm like, 'Oh, no! This is not what's happening!' So, I was trying as best I could to defend myself and get away," she said.

The woman said she goes running every morning in the park but never thought someone would attack her.

"I was thinking, 'OK, I'm screaming as loud as I can.' I was sort of pleased with myself for screaming loudly, and I thought, 'I don't think the houses nearby are close enough for the people in the houses to hear me,' " she said.

Murphy sustained scratches on her hand and neck from struggling to get free but managed to fight back until her suspect ran away. When she did see his face, she said the suspect was smiling.

Police said the suspect fled on foot before officers arrived.

Detectives described the suspect as a Hispanic man who is between the ages of 20 and 30, has brown hair and eyes, a light mustache, stands 6 feet tall and weighs 200 pounds.

He was last seen wearing tan pants, a red and white baseball-type shirt and a flannel shirt wrapped about his face.

Anyone with information regarding this incident or the whereabouts of the suspect is urged to contact the Claremont Police Department at (909) 399-5411.

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