NYPD: Woman Followed Into Williamsburg Apartment Building In Attempted Sex Assault
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Police have released surveillance video of a man they say tried to sexually assault a woman earlier this week in Brooklyn.
The man allegedly followed the 42-year-old woman inside an apartment building near Berry Street and South 10 Street in Williamsburg in broad daylight around 7:45 a.m. on Labor Day.
Police said he physically attacked her, placing his hand over her mouth and attempting to sexually assault her.
The woman was able to resist, and the man ran off, making a left onto Broadway.
Police say the victim was not physically injured in the attack.
"For somebody to come into the neighborhood and do something like this is ridiculous," said Williamsburg resident Joan Trece.
"I think the scarier thing is that it happened right across the street from a park. You know kids are here, people are walking their dogs. For someone to feel comfortable and something like this happen across the street from a park is appalling," said Blake Vigote, also a resident of Williamsburg.
Police grabbed the surveillance images of the man off a building camera about three blocks away.
Investigators described the suspect as a Hispanic man with a slim build and close-cut hair, 5 feet 9 inches tall and approximately 160 to 170 pounds. He was last seen wearing a baseball hat, blue jeans, black sneakers and a cross-body bag.
Neighbors say they are surprised something like this happened in their community and are committed to making sure the man's held accountable.
"I work in real estate management in the area and I can tell you we have a lot of apartments in the area and we never have a safety complaint" said building manager Yocheved Prince.
"I will turn him in -- believe that," said Trece.
Authorities are also searching for another suspect in the attempted rape of a 27-year-old woman in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
Anyone with information about the either incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.