Officials are urging any additional victims to come forward after a Cal State Northridge student was arrested Friday on suspicion of the rape and sexual assault of multiple victims over the course of more than a year.
Davis Moreno-Jaime, a 19-year-old freshman who plays for the school’s soccer team, is being investigated by several agencies in cases reported in various areas of Southern California, said Anne Glavin, CSUN chief of police.
The business marketing major was arrested on campus around 12:30 p.m. He has been suspended from the university, officials said.
Police wouldn’t specify how many alleged victims there are or where crimes occurred.
The first case involved was reported to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Devonshire Station, located in Northridge, in April 2017. The most recent report was filed last month.
“There are other cases and other victims relating to this suspect,” Glavin said during a Friday news conference. “I am sure you realize we cannot and will not discuss the details of any of these cases at this time.”
Moreno-Jaime is being investigated in assaults that occurred in the San Fernando Valley, on the CSUN campus and at an undisclosed location outside of Los Angeles County, said LAPD Capt. Bryan Lium.
Although no information was released about the victims, Glavin indicated they knew Moreno-Jaime.
“I will say that this was not your stereotypical, jumping-out-of-the-bushes kind of thing,” she said.
Glavin made a plea for potential victims — or anyone with information about possible assaults by Moreno-Jaime — to come forward. She urged them not to worry about about legal processes that could come later down the road.
“Telling us your story does not obligate you to see it through to the full prosecution under law,” Glavin said. “If that happens, that is good. But right now, we most want to hear your story — what happened to you with this individual.”
“And we are committed to helping you in any way that we can,” she added.
The university’s president, Dianne Harrison, said the campus has a “zero-tolerance policy” for handling reported sexual assaults as she also urged other potential victims to speak with police.
“On behalf of the CSUN community, we extend our deepest sympathies to everyone impacted by these disgusting crimes,” Harrison said, saying the campus is committed to supporting survivors of assault.
“I am grateful to the brave students and other young women who step forward to provide information to the police regarding sexual assault,” she told reporters.
Police would not say how they begun investigating Moreno-Jaime, not giving details about the first reported assault or how they came across other alleged victims.
“I can’t go into all the details of how we got him, but we did,” Glavin said.
The multiple agencies involved in the case, including LAPD and CSUN campus police, said releasing more information could hurt their efforts.
“We don’t want to contaminate an ongoing investigation,” Lium said.
Moreno-Jaime is described by police as a Hispanic man who is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds, with green eyes and brown hair.
Anyone with information can contact LAPD sexual assault investigators at 818-832-0609 while anonymous tips can be forwarded to 800-222-8477.