CUPERTINO, CALI., – 25-year-old Hugo Cuseallpa was arrested on Feb 11 for the sexual assault and impersonation of a police officer. The arrest came after a 10-day search for the suspect as the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Department reported the sexual assault of a female victim on Feb 1 in the unincorporated area of San Jose.
A Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department press release detailed a sexual assault that occurred in unincorporated San Jose. The report concluded that a male Latino driver had pulled over to pick up a young woman walking on Monterey Highway around 2:30 AM in San Jose. The female victim, thankful for a ride, got in. However, during the ride she suddenly got the shock of her life when the driver, Cuseallpa, told her he was a police officer and do what he asked, or he would arrest her.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, “Once inside the car, the male suspect identified himself as a police officer and displayed a “shield type badge” that was blue and gold in color”. He pulled into a empty parking lot with the intent to commit the sexual assault. That is when Cuseallpa told the women that if she did not comply with his wishes he would arrest her. The woman, in fear for her safety, complied with the assailant’s wishes. Once he released the female victim from his vehicle, she called 9-1-1 to report the incident.
The victim described a 1990’s Durango as the vehicle she was assaulted in
The victim described the suspect as having a “muscular build” and a “bowl style hair cut,” authorities said. During a follow-up investigation into the incident, deputies were able to gather surveillance footage identifying the vehicle as a white 1990s-model Dodge Durango.
Once the Sheriff’s office was able to provide a sketch of the suspect and photo of the vehicle used in the assault, numerous tips were received telling the Investigators about the suspect and his whereabouts. Cupertino authorities with the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Department followed up on the leads from the community that helped identify Cuseallpa as the suspect. When arrested, the makeshift badge was found along with other phony police equipment.
Through the communities help in solving this crime, the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Department investigators were able to positively identify 25-year-old Hugo Cuseallpa as the suspect. He was subsequently arrested on the morning of Feb 11 and booked into the Santa Clara Main Jail without incident.
