A 34-year-old man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of entering a Pepperdine student’s Malibu residence and sexually assaulting her as she slept, officials said.
Matthew Fairchild was identified as a suspect in the Feb. 8 attack after investigators released surveillance images earlier this week, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
He’s accused of entering the victim’s unit in a condominium complex on the 23900 block of Civic Center Way around 3:45 a.m., when the woman awoke to find herself being sexually assaulted. The attacker apologized before fleeing from the residence, investigators said.
Officials say the man identified as Fairchild lives on the streets and may have been intoxicated at the time.
Malibu City Councilman Jefferson Wagner, who lives at the complex, told KTLA that the victim is a Pepperdine student in her 20s. In an interview Tuesday morning, he said the woman was OK physically and promised to follow the case “on the City Council level.”
Wagner said that a fence at the complex had been cut, apparently so the intruder could gain access.
Fairchild was taken into custody at about 6:15 a.m. Wednesday on the 19100 Block of Pacific Coast Highway. He was being held on $1 million bail on suspicion of assault with intent to commit a sex crime, deputies said.
