Police search for man in alleged sex assault of Oakland boy

OAKLAND, Calf. (KGO) -- An active child predator could be lurking on the streets of Oakland and detectives are doing everything they can to catch him.

Police say the man sexually assaulted a young 10-year old boy and now they're hoping people in the community can help make an arrest.

The incident occurred in the 1100 block of 98th Avenue, just three blocks from Stonehurst Elementary School. A 10-year old boy says he was lured off the street by a man and sexually assaulted in the area. It happened on Tuesday around 3 p.m.

"The distinctive feature is he has short salt and pepper hair and full beard described as being bushy, also with salt and pepper hair," Johnna Watson, spokesperson for the Oakland police department.

Police say the slim Latino man is about 5 feet 7 inches tall, 40 to 50 years old and unkempt. He was wearing a brown leather jacket and dark pants. Investigators are now combing through video from city cameras that were installed due to the high volume of crime.

Police are also asking anyone else in the neighborhood to check their surveillance video to see if they captured the suspect on camera.

Emad Abdallah runs a tune-up shop in the area and has seen murder victims on every corner of the block, including his own son whose case is still unsolved. But a sexual assault is not common for the area.

"It surprises me," Abdallah said. "I never heard of anything like that happening in this neighborhood, although there is a lot of crime. Nothing like this before though."

"We do not have any information that would lead us to believe this is not credible," Watson said.

The concern is that other children could be in danger, but with the help of neighbors and some technology investigators are hoping to make an arrest.