Suspect arrested in assault of deaf woman

Police have arrested a man who allegedly assaulted a 31-year-old deaf woman in San Francisco’s Mission District early Thursday morning, a police spokeswoman said.

At about 2:40 a.m., San Francisco police were called to a gas station near the intersection of Cesar Chavez Street and South Van Ness Avenue where a woman was injured and in need of help, San Francisco police spokeswoman Grace Gatpandan said.

Since the woman was deaf, she gestured to police that she had been attacked and then pointed to her attacker, who was nearby, Gatpandan explained.

The suspect, identified as 37-year-old San Francisco resident Stephen Horton, was taken into custody and the victim was taken to San Francisco General Hospital for treatment of her injuries.

Once at the hospital, a sign language interpreter with the California Highway Patrol interviewed the victim, giving police the information needed to arrest Horton on charges including suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and battery causing serious bodily injury, according to Gatpandan.

Horton apparently used his hands and feet to beat the woman, causing her to suffer a cut to her chin, a bruise to her forehead, a complaint of pain in her chest and loss of consciousness, police said.

The victim was treated at San Francisco General for injuries that are not considered life threatening, police said.

The motive for the attack remains under investigation and police have not said whether the victim knew her attacker.