Man accused of sexually assaulting Asian woman faces hate crime charges, CA cops say
A San Francisco man has been arrested on accusations that he sexually assaulted an Asian woman while she was waiting for a train in San Jose in what authorities are calling a hate crime.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said on Friday that Johan Strydom, 32, will be charged with “assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury” and “assault with an intent to commit rape and assault” with felony hate crime enhancements.
“This is every woman’s nightmare, and this is our community’s nightmare,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in the news release. “This is also a tale of heroism. Our community came to this woman’s aid and stopped the attack. Hate crimes are not someone else’s problem. They are mine. They are yours. It will take all of us to confront them.”
Tiffany, 26, a medical worker who didn’t want her last name used, told KTVU that she was attacked Wednesday morning at San Jose’s Diridon train station on her way to work. She told the outlet that a man grabbed her neck and hair and yelled expletives about her being Asian.
“I just felt completely helpless in the whole situation,” Tiffany said.
According to the district attorney’s office, she was on the phone with her boyfriend when Strydom grabbed her neck and pulled her to the ground while saying the slur — “(expletive deleted) you, Asians.”
Witnesses of the incident and her boyfriend, who rushed back to the station in his car, helped stop the attack, according to authorities. Police said that after some of the witnesses followed Strydom to a bus stop, he said the racist slur again and, “You guys gonna come and save that h—?”
According to authorities, San Jose police officers arrested Strydom near the SAP Center. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday afternoon.
