Deputies arrest suspect in multiple sexual assaults in Santa Barbara County

March 6, 2022

By KAREN VELIE

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies on Saturday arrested a 30-year-old man they suspect committed a string of sexual assaults in the Isla Vista area late last month.

Deputies arrested Michael Angelo Auclair of Ventura County  in Lompoc and booked him into the Santa Barbara County Main Jail on charges of sexual battery and indecent exposure. His bail is set at $1 million.

On Feb. 28, multiple people reported sexual assaults, indecent exposures or an attempted kidnapping in the Isla Vista area. The first of multiple reports of indecent exposure was made shortly after 5 p.m.

Two hours later, a man approached a woman near Camino Del Sur and Sueno Road, covered the victim’s mouth and fondled her breasts. The suspect then fled in a vehicle.

At 8:30 p.m., another victim reported nonconsensual fondling on the UCSB campus.

Throughout the night of Feb. 28, deputies searched the area for a college-aged male with dark hair and an older tan vehicle, but they did not locate the suspect until Saturday.

“The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the public and our community partners for their assistance with this case,” according to a press release. “This investigation was moved forward with the help of members of the public who came forward with information, including home security video that captured the suspect in his vehicle”