CUPERTINO, CA – A man suspected of raping a legally blind woman in May in Cupertino has been arrested.
On 05/05/2021, a female adult who is legally blind was walking to her workplace in the area of Stevens Creek Boulevard at North Stelling Road, city of Cupertino.
Prior to the assault, an unknown male suspect approached the female victim as she was walking and made verbal flirtatious advances towards her. The female victim politely declined and continued to walk to her workplace. The unknown suspect later re-approached the female victim at an outdoor public parking lot, in broad daylight.
The suspect held the legally blind victim against her will and sexually assaulted her. Based on the timeframe of the encounters, it appeared the suspect was following the female victim prior to the assault. After being approached by a witness, the suspect immediately ran away on foot through the parking lot and later fled in his vehicle.
On 12/02/2021, the San Mateo Police Department located Mejia-Ortiz in the city of San Mateo. Mejia-Ortiz was transported and booked into the San Mateo County Jail on charges of Sexual Battery and False Imprisonment.The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the community and our local media partners for their collective efforts, which led to the identification of Mejia-Ortiz. We would also like to thank the San Mateo Police Department for their collaborative efforts in apprehending him into custody.
“Sheriff’s Office Sexual Assault Investigations Unit (SAIU) Detectives would like to thank the public for their assistance on this case. Detectives received multiple tips from the public since the initial press release. After investigating each lead, Detectives obtained the suspect’s vehicle information, which later led to the identification of the suspect as Bernard Mejia-Ortiz (29), a resident from the city of San Mateo. A $40,000 arrest warrant was issued for Mejia-Ortiz,” the department said in a statement.