Woman Raped at Her Home in Corona del Mar

A Corona del Mar woman was raped in her apartment early Friday morning by an attacker who sneaked through a bedroom window an hour after she had returned home, police said.

It was the first rape in Corona del Mar since 1989, Newport Beach Sgt. Andy Gonis said.

The woman, who works nights and lives alone, had spent time after work at a friend’s house and then returned to her home on Goldenrod Avenue about 2:30 a.m., Gonis said. She fell asleep almost immediately. An hour later, the rapist forced open a locked sliding glass window in her bedroom and entered her room.

The woman, hearing a window opening, stirred, but did not realize that anyone was in her room until the intruder lunged at her and put a pillow over her face, Gonis said.

The assailant fled with her purse.

The woman told police she heard the sound of a car start up and drive away, but she did not get a license plate identification.

“At this point it does not appear that the victim knew the suspect,” Gonis said.

The woman described the intruder as about 5-foot-10, with an athletic build. He had dark skin and smelled of automotive grease or oil, Gonis said.

He did not use a weapon, and the attack is not believed to be linked to any other rapes in the county, Gonis said.

But Gonis said detectives are considering sending the evidence to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s DNA lab. The evidence will be stored for future trial, if a suspect is apprehended.

“The detectives are actively investigating any and all leads,” Gonis said.