Irvine police arrest assault suspect caught on video near UC Irvine
Irvine police have arrested a suspect in a sexual assault that occurred Saturday morning near the UC Irvine campus.
On Wednesday morning, police arrested Brandon Dybdahl, 23, of Beaumont, at a residence in Laguna Hills, the Irvine Police Department said. Dybdahl, who police say was in possession of the vehicle seen in the video, “will be charged with sexual battery and false imprisonment.”
In the video, released by the police department, Dybdahl allegedly “followed the victim before restraining and groping her from behind,” according to a statement by the Irvine Police Department.
Karie Davies, a spokesperson for the Irvine Police Department, said the victim was wearing a head covering resembling those worn by some Muslim women, but “we don’t have any indication” that it played a role.
The investigation is “not going there with hate crime right now,” according to Davies. She also stressed that although the crime occurred in the vicinity of UC Irvine, it “has nothing to do with UCI.”
After a brief altercation, Dybdahl allegedly fled in a four-door white Nissan Sentra with a spoiler. He was initially described by police as a white male with reddish-brown hair around 6 feet and 160 pounds in his early 20s.
In the video, he wore a gray, short-sleeved shirt with black shorts and flip-flops.
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