Full Notification

TYPE OF INCIDENT:

Arrest made for Sexual Assaults that occurred in both Livermore and Union City in the summer of 1997.

SUMMARY:

On November 5, 2019, Livermore Police Department Detectives, Union City PD Detectives, and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office served an arrest warrant and search warrant on Gregory Paul Vien for a violent sexual assault of a 22-year old female that occurred in Livermore in September of 1997. Gregory Vien was also arrested for the violent sexual assault of a 41-year old woman that occurred in Union City in May of 1997.

In May of 1997 in Union City, a 41-year old female was walking home from the Union City BART station when she was attacked by an unknown male who dragged her to a nearby field and violently sexually assaulted the victim. The unknown male suspect left biological fluid at the scene which was collected and preserved by Union City Police. The unknown suspect’s DNA was uploaded into a DNA database hoping for a suspect identification.

In September of 1997, a 22-year-old female was brutally attacked and sexually assaulted while she was on an evening walk at Livermore High School. The unknown suspect left DNA evidence behind, which was diligently collected by officers at the time. The DNA evidence was uploaded into a DNA database. In 1998, The DNA database indicated the evidence collected from LPD’s 1997 case was linked to the DNA evidence collected from the brutal sexual assault that occurred in Union City.

In July 2019, LPD Detectives began to review the case from 1997. Detectives submitted the DNA evidence to a genetic laboratory for a chromosomal DNA profile. Based on that DNA profile, a genetic consultant was able to provide an investigative lead for the suspect, which Detectives immediately began to follow-up on.

Detectives conducted surveillance on Gregory Vien. Detectives successfully collected Gregory Vien’s discarded DNA samples from a plastic spoon he had used. That DNA sample from the spoon was submitted to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) DNA database for comparison to the evidence collected from both Livermore and Union City’s sexual assaults in 1997.

The investigation revealed the suspect in both 1997 violent sexual assaults was Gregory Paul Vien, DOB of 12/21/1958. Based on this information, Detectives obtained an arrest warrant and a search warrant for Gregory Vien.

On November 5, 2019, the Livermore Police Department in conjunction with the Union City Police Department and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office took Gregory Vien into custody. On the night of his arrest, LPD Detectives collect a direct sample of Gregory Vien’s DNA based on a search warrant. That DNA was immediately sent to a laboratory for comparison to the DNA collected in both sexual assault cases from 1997. On November 12, 2019, the results from the

DNA comparison verified the DNA collected at both crimes scenes were an exact match for Gregory Vien.

Gregory Vien was booked into the Santa Rita Jail on charges of:

• 289(a)(1)(A) PC – Sexual penetration by foreign object with force

• 288A(2)(A) PC – Forced Oral Copulation

• 236 – False Imprisonment

• 207(a) – Kidnapping

There are three additional unsolved brutal sexual assaults that occurred in Livermore between 1995-1997. These unsolved cases have similar characteristics to those perpetrated by Gregory Vien. At this point, we believe Gregory Vien may be a suspect in those cases and we continue to investigate.

Gregory Vien is a long time Livermore resident who also frequented Union City, Fremont, Hayward, San Lorenzo and San Ramon in the mid to late 1990’s.

All of the above cases are active and ongoing. The Union City Police Department and allied agencies are seeking the public’s assistance and encouraging anyone who might have information regarding these assaults or any other suspicious activity involving Gregory Paul Vien, in Union City to contact Union City Police Detective Josh Clubb at (510) 675-5227 or via email at [email protected].

The Union City Police Department would like to thank Livermore Police Department for their assistance on this case. Also, a special thanks to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for their guidance and assistance throughout this investigation.