Police arrested a San Francisco man Saturday for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a female foreign exchange student he met on Treasure Island.
According to police spokeswoman Sgt. Lyn Tomioka, the 21-year-old woman is going to school in Washington state and was visiting California.
The woman was sightseeing on Treasure Island early that morning when Alex Thomas Owen, 41, offered her a ride, police said.
Owen gained the woman’s trust by showing her some of his ID cards, according to police.
He then reportedly drove her to the Twin Peaks neighborhood in his 1993 Lincoln Town Car.
When she refused to have sex with him, Owens allegedly struck the woman and sexually assaulted her. She then escaped and called police.
The woman still had Owen’s ID cards and police used them to track him to the Ashbury Heights neighborhood, where they arrested him and seized his car at about 8:30 a.m.
Police booked Owen on suspicion of kidnapping, assault and sexual assault, and he remains in custody.
According to California’s Megan’s Law Web site, Owen was previously convicted of lewd acts with a child under age 14.
Tomioka said Owen has spent time in Nevada and recently registered as a sex offender in San Mateo County. He has no criminal history in San Francisco, she said.
Police are not releasing information about the country the alleged victim is from in order to protect her identity, Tomioka said.
