Police released a description Monday of a man who simulated the use of a handgun then sexually assaulted and robbed a woman while forcing her male companion to lie facedown in the sand on Manhattan Beach early Easter morning.

The assailant approached a man and woman in their 40s at the 3400 block of the waterline (map) around 12:16 a.m. Sunday, the Manhattan Beach Police Department stated in a news release.

“Just after midnight, our officers received a call of a rape in progress,” police Detective Sgt. Paul Ford said.

Responding officers learned a Hispanic man had approached the couple, taken the man’s cellphone and ordered him to lay face down in the sand, Ford said.

“He told the male victim he had a gun and that he would kill him,” Ford said.

While the man sexually assaulted the woman, the male victim was able to escape and run to a home on The Stand, where he asked the residents to call 911, the detective said.

The man robbed the man and woman and fled southbound on foot, according to a police news release, which did not state what property the assailant took.

He was described as a bald, Hispanic man between 25 and 30 years old with a thin mustache. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans the night of the attack, police said Monday.

Police set up a perimeter Sunday, but were unable to find the man.

After the attack, beachgoers expressed concern over returning to the area at night. Some said it made them not want to come to the beach.

“We come down here all the time and we bike ride as a family. A lot of kids come out here, and it makes you wonder, should I bring them down here at night?” Manhattan Beach visitor Kiersten Jones said.

Anyone with information was asked to contact Detective Rosenberger at 310-802-5127.

KTLA’s Melissa Pamer contributed to this article.

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