Man arrested in sexual assault cases

Huntington Beach police on Wednesday arrested a suspect in three sexual batteries in the city, according to police.

Matthew Andrew Linville, 19, of Westminster, was booked into Huntington Beach City Jail on suspicion of assault with intent to commit rape and sexual battery and is being held on $100,000 bail, according to police.

Plainclothes officers were monitoring the grounds of the Bella Terra mall, where Linville is believed to have groped women at a Burlington Coat Factory and a parking structure Sept. 13.

Officers noticed a man who matched the description of the suspect enter a business in the mall. Authorities talked to the establishment’s manager and confirmed that Linville was an employee there, according to police.

Upon further investigation, police linked Linville to the attacks and arrested him at 4:40 p.m. at his home in Westminster.

The first incident occurred Aug. 28 near Golden West College, where a woman became the target of an attempted sexual assault as she was jogging.

—Anthony Clark Carpio

Twitter: @acocarpio