A 37-year-old Santa Barbara man was arrested Tuesday morning on charges of rape, penetration with a foreign object, and burglary. The man was arrested at approximately 8 a.m. on the 600 block of East Cota Street after police had made repeated attempts to locate him. He had been under investigation after several reports of a man entering residences and assaulting women while they slept.

On March 29, officers responded to a call of an assault on the 500 block of North Quarantina Street at approximately 5:37 a.m. The 29-year-old female victim reported being awakened by an unknown person in her bed. Upon realizing this, she screamed for help, to which her boyfriend, who was in another room in the house, responded. A fight ensued between the victim’s boyfriend and the suspect; however, the suspect was able to flee the scene.

Officers investigated the state of the victim’s home after the suspect had fled and linked similar cases to a suspect who already had a warrant out for his arrest. On March 31, detectives were able to locate this man at his previous residence on East Cota Street with the help of a resident who claimed she worked near his place of employment. The arrested man was interviewed by detectives and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail later that evening.

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