UCI police are investigating whether a man authorities countywide have linked with sexual assaults from 2000 to 2008 may have been the same man who attacked a woman on campus over the weekend.
UCI, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach and several other police departments in Orange County are looking for 32-year-old Alvaro Flores, a 5-foot-6 Latino man with a medium build, brown hair and brown eyes. According to UCI police, Flores is wanted in connection with several sexual assaults Southern California. Authorities say a series of attacks dating back to 2000 all follow the same method, where a man fitting Flores’ description sneaks up on women from behind usually between 6 and 9 a.m. or 6 and 9 p.m. as they walk to or from large apartment complexes with carports.
At about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, a woman was approached by a man from behind her threatened her in the Parking Lot 5 area near University and Campus drives. The man was described as 5-foot-8, between 170 and 180 pounds and wearing dark blue jeans and a shirt. He ran after the attack, police said.
