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Man arrested for sexual assault of woman on Cambria trail, deputies say

Deputies use new DNA technology to identify man in sexual assault case
DNA Arrest
Posted at 4:40 PM, Jul 02, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-02 20:11:15-04

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Deputies arrested a man they say sexually assaulted a woman on a trail in Cambria.

Deputies say the sexual assault happened on June, 27 when a woman was attacked while on the Santa Rosa Creek hiking trail south of Windsor Boulevard in Cambria.

Investigators say the woman was dragged off the trail by a male suspect who was unknown to her. The suspect held her against her will and sexually assaulted her over the next several hours before leaving her and fleeing the area.

Deputies say they were notified of the assault on June, 28.

Detectives began their investigation and were able to collect DNA evidence by using the ANDE Rapid DNA instrument to develop a DNA profile of the suspect.

The sheriff's office says this is the first time they have used the ANDE Rapid DNA instrument in a criminal investigation.

Detectives were able to identify a likely suspect as 31-year-old Jesus Barajas Valdovinos of Cambria.

cambria assault.PNG
Jesus Barajas Valdovinos, 31, of Cambria

Deputies say the victim gave a positive ID of Barajas Valdovinos and detectives were able to search the Cambria area with both marked and unmarked patrol units to locate Barajas Valdovinos.

On Friday, detectives arrested Barajas Valdovinos on the 4000 block of Burton Drive and he was transported to San Luis Obispo County Jail.