Berkeley sexual battery suspect released, may get diversion
Berkeley PD's Bike Patrol picked up Audrey Barlow last week just a day after a teenager said he slapped her buttocks on her way to school.
A man who was charged with sexual battery on a Berkeley High student was released on his own recognizance this week and is being considered for a diversion program, court papers show.
On Monday, Judge Rozlynn Silvaggio granted a defense motion to release Audrey Barlow from jail, referring him to a misdemeanor diversion program for assessment, according to court records.
Berkeley PD's Bike Patrol picked up 41-year-old Barlow on University Avenue last week just a day after the teenager made her sexual battery report. He is unhoused, police said.
Read more about sex crimes in Berkeley.
According to court papers, the student was walking to Berkeley High on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, on the sidewalk next to Civic Center Park, when Barlow began walking toward her as she passed by tents in the area at about 9:30 a.m. Jan. 29.
As Barlow walked in front of her, she saw him drop a cellphone and then bend down to pick it up.
When the young woman walked by him, police wrote, Barlow slapped her buttocks.
Shocked, she continued on to school and immediately reported what happened, authorities said.
Emilie Raguso
Berkeley police quickly set up surveillance at Civic Center Park and identified Barlow as a possible suspect.
The BHS student later identified him as the man who had slapped her, according to charging papers.
But that wasn't all police found as the investigation continued.
"A record search revealed several disturbing incidents involving Barlow in the area," police wrote.
Audrey Barlow. BPD
In 2019, BPD arrested him after he was reported masturbating in front of a woman's vehicle for several minutes.
About two years later, police detained him after finding him masturbating in public on Telegraph Avenue, police wrote.
More recently, police detained Barlow after he "exposed his penis in public to a BHS safety officer near the high school campus" in January 2024, according to charging papers.
Last week, a BPD sex crime detective secured a warrant for Barlow's arrest, which led to his brief detention.
On Friday, the Alameda County DA's office charged Barlow with misdemeanor sexual battery.
As part of her order freeing him while the case proceeds, Judge Silvaggio said Barlow must stay at least 100 yards from Berkeley High School and that he cannot go into Civic Center Park, according to court records.
He has entered a not-guilty plea and is scheduled for a diversion assessment next week.
