Beach sunbather sexually harassed by homeless man: police

SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA – A homeless man is in police custody after climbing on top of an unsuspecting sunbather on the beach in Santa Monica and sexually assaulting her, police said.

The alleged assault occurred on Tuesday afternoon in the 1300 block of Ocean Front Walk. Shortly thereafter, police found and arrested 25-year-old Alonzo Dickson on suspicion of sexual assault with forcible presentation.

“The victim reported that at approximately 1:30 p.m., while she was sunbathing, an unknown male climbed on top of her and began to push against her,” Santa Monica police said in a written statement. “She quickly stood up and her sister helped push the suspect away.”

Los Angeles County lifeguards stopped police officers who found Dickson heading south on the beach

“Dickson has no criminal record in California,” police said. “However, he has at least one criminal case pending against him in the state of Washington. As part of that investigation, detectives are looking into the details of this incident.”

Anyone with information regarding Dickson or the assault is asked to contact Detective Murphy of the Santa Monica Police Department at [email protected] or the Watch Commander (24 hours a day) at (310) 458-8427.