Police search for man who raped Petaluma woman in her own home

PETALUMA, Calif. (KGO) -- A police manhunt is underway in Petaluma for the man who raped a woman Friday morning in her own home.

An officer was standing guard at the victim's home all morning as officers continue to search for the alleged rapist. The victim's relative says the woman left her home to drop her kids off at school and when she returned, she was attacked and assaulted.

It happened around 8 a.m. in the Westridge neighborhood in the southern part of the city.

SKY7 HD shows police cars lining the streets as officers searched on foot with K9s to track down the attacker.

Officials say the victim came home to find the intruder in her house. She said he was wearing a black beanie over his face.

He restrained then raped her before he took off.

"I got a knock on the door and a police officer was there. That was around 9:30 or so, quarter to ten. He told me that the second house down there had been robbed. I knew who's house it was," neighbor Bob Spagnola said.

Spagnola's heart dropped when he learned the victim was a relative. He said, fortunately, her two young children were spared from witnessing such a horrific event.

"They weren't home or anything else. It happened I guess after she had left to take them to school," he said.

"I just couldn't believe, just couldn't believe it. We've been here from the first day," Helen Spagnola said.

The Spagnolas have lived on this block for 40 years. The used to leave their garage door open in this uneventful area, quite different Friday as crime scene technicians were in and out with bags of evidence.

Neighbors say this incident is shocking, but is not representative of their community as a whole.

"It's sad. Doesn't make me lose faith though in the Petaluma neighborhood," neighbor Julie Lyndick said.

Police say they'll continue to pull together their resources to find the rapist.