For more information, contact:

Pam Rivera, Manager of Security, 389-7471, or

Ted Burton, Public Relations Manager, 389-7550

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 15, 2000

CAPITAL METRO ASKS EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS TO BE “EYES AND EARS” TO CATCH SUSPECT

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Search Continues for Sexual Assault Suspect

When Capital Metro bus operators and supervisors arrived at work Wednesday morning, they found a composite sketch of a sexual assault suspect in their mailbox. “Our operators are our eyes and ears on the streets,” said Security Manager Pam Rivera. “If they see anything suspicious, they’ll let us know.”

Austin police are asking the public to help find a suspect possibly linked to three sexual assaults and two indecency with a child cases over the past four years. Police say they alleged assaults happened at or near Capital Metro bus stops. The minute Capital Metro was notified, officials sent security officers and supervisors to two area transfer centers and one bus stop to notify passengers of the search and handout composite sketches of the suspect.

“We’re planning to keep the effort going at least through the end of the week then see where we go from there,” said Rivera. “We want our passengers to know they’re safe. They’ll see Austin police officers, working for us, at various stops handing out sketches of the suspect especially during heavy travel times.” Passengers likely won’t notice plain-clothes officers who have been assigned to the case. “The goal is not only to let our customers know what’s going on, but also to help police catch this guy,” said Ted Burton, Capital Metro Public Relations Manager.

Capital Metro records indicate the agency has received no reports of alleged attacks matching the dates provided by police in connection with this case. During the past fiscal year, no sexual assaults were reported to Capital Metro at any of its bus stops or facilities. There were 15 reported exposures. That’s out of a total of nearly 32 million passenger boardings during the same period.

Nearly 50 Austin police officers work as security officers for Capital Metro monitoring safety and security throughout the system. This week they’ll pay extra attention to the North Lamar Transfer Center at 183 and North Lamar, the Highland Mall Transfer Center and the bus stop at Berkman and Westminster.

For information about the police investigation, contact APD at 974-5017 or the Sex Crimes Office at 974-5230. For more information about Capital Metro’s efforts in the investigation, contact Pam Rivera, Manager of Security at 389-7471 or Ted Burton, Public Relations Manager at 389-7550.