A preliminary hearing began Thursday to determine whether a San Francisco man will stand trial on charges of sexually assaulting three women along the city’s 24th Street corridor between June and December 2011.
Frederick Dozier Jr., who was arrested on Jan. 6, faces 26 felony counts, including attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery, attempted rape, forcible oral copulation and other sexual assault charges.
The violent attacks occurred on June 17 near 24th Street and South Van Ness Avenue, on Nov. 18 near 24th Street and Potrero Avenue, and on Dec. 8 near 24th and Fair Oaks streets, prosecutors said.
The crimes prompted public outcry and a community meeting attended by hundreds of people.
At the start of today’s preliminary hearing, Assistant District Attorney Marshall Khine brought forward police officers to testify about details of the first two attacks.
Officer Lauro Baca said on the morning of June 17, he was flagged down by a man who led him to the victim, who was sitting against the wall of a building and crying.
The victim said a suspect, later identified as Dozier, approached her from behind, grabbed her and said “Don’t say anything,” Baca said.
He then pulled her to the ground on South Van Ness Avenue in a driveway between a wall and a parked car and attempted to rape her, then forced her to orally copulate him and put his hands on her throat, threatening to hurt her if she made any noise, according to Baca.
On Nov. 18, the second victim was also attacked from behind while waiting for a bus, and was also pulled to a driveway, this one on Potrero Avenue, where she was sexually assaulted, Officer Anthony Orge said.
The victim told Orge that she was also punched in the head and face and choked during the assault, the officer testified.
Kara Duffy, a physician’s assistant who works at the rape treatment center at San Francisco General Hospital, testified that she handled the second and third victims’ cases at the hospital.
Duffy said the bridge of the third victim’s nose was broken so badly that “you could see the cartilage of her nose.”
Police said following Dozier’s arrest that he was identified as the attacker with the help of a tip to investigators, who then matched his DNA with evidence found at the crime scenes.
He had worked as a part-time nutrition services worker for San Francisco Unified School District and also worked for Green Streets, a janitorial services company that operates at three low-income housing complexes, including Bernal Dwellings on Cesar Chavez Street, where he was arrested.
Dozier’s preliminary hearing is expected to continue on Monday.
He remains in custody and faces life in prison if convicted of all charges, according to the district attorney’s office.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
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