ASU Police arrested a man they believe is responsible for a string of sexual assaults on the Tempe campus for more than a year. According to police, Filiberto Salgado-Cirilo is the man suspected of being the “ASU Serial Groper.”
Police arrested Salgado-Cirilo, 26, on Aug. 29 after he allegedly groped students’ buttocks, according to a police report.
ASU Police Cmdr. Jim Hardina said that there have been about 14 incidents with zero arrests.
“Last year we had about 14 cases of the subject riding up (on a bike) behind women and either grabbing their breasts or grabbing their buttocks,” Hardina said. “None of those women were able to get a good look at the suspect’s face so consequently we weren’t able to do a composite drawing or develop any leads.”
Hardina said the only description victims could give police were that he was a Hispanic or Native American man in his early 20s and about 5 feet, 7 to 8 inches tall. Tempe Police detained Salgado-Cirilo because he fit the description of all the groping incidents, according to the report.
Police reported, the latest victim said she noticed Salgado-Cirilo on his bike on the opposite corner of McAllister Avenue just north of University Drive. As she crossed the street onto the Tempe campus Salgado-Cirilo had followed her, she said.
In the report, the victim told police that she noticed a shadow looming over her and when she had turned around she saw Salgado-Cirilo riding towards her.
As Salgado-Cirilo passed her on his bike he “reached out with his right hand and grabbed her left butt cheek,” police reported.
After the incident, the victim contacted police who noted the description matched previous incidents and they put a notification out to other officers in the area, according to the report. Salgado-Cirilo was stopped by an ASU Police officer on East Orange Street near the Memorial Union and was identified by his Mexican ID.
The victim was taken to the arresting site where she positively identified Salgado-Cirilo as the man who had assaulted her, police reported.
“He was a Spanish-speaker so we had a Spanish speaking officer come over,” Hardina said. “Basically what he said was he was riding past her, hit the curb, lost his balance and grabbed her backpack in order to catch his balance.”
Salgado-Cirilo also told police that he was attending a soccer game at the Student Recreation Complex, where his friends were playing, according to the report, and while leaving he encountered the victim.
Salgado-Cirilo was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail and was given a citation for the assault in addition to being restricted from all ASU property, which is subject to arrest, according to the report. Students are being advised by ASU Police to notify authorities if Salgado-Cirilo is spotted around campus.
Hardina said Salgado-Cirilo is due to appear in court at a later date where Salgado-Cirilo will face an assault charge.
Reach the reporter at sraymund@asu.edu
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