Police Speculate Mayfair Attacker Has Struck For Third Time
By Mike Dougherty
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia police are searching for a man they believe is responsible for three separate sexual assaults in the Mayfair section of Northeast Philadelphia in the span of a little more than a month, most recently this past Wednesday night (see previous stories).
Police don't have much of a description to work with at this point -- a thin man about six feet tall. They don't even have solid information on the race of the man they're looking for.
All three attacks have been violent, and similar. A man approaches a woman in her 20s from behind, knocks her to the ground, and drags her into a dark alley where a violent sexual assault occurs.
The three incidents all happened within the same general vicinity, in the ciyt's Mayfair section, at night or in the early morning.
Capt. John Darby, of the police department's special victims' unit, says the suspect has done a good job of hiding his identity.
"Unknown race. We're getting descriptions of white male, light-skinned black male. Tall guy, about six foot, thin. One of the victims described him as having broad shoulders," Darby said today.
He says police are desperate solve this puzzle.
"He's getting more and more violent with each attack and that's got us on edge," Darby told reporters today.
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Residents are also on edge.
"I have a daughter, so I always think about it," said Mike. "And I'm always petrified for my daughter so I keep a close eye on her."
Capt. Darby asks neighbors to leave their back lights on and to let police know if they have residential surveillance cameras, since some of these attacks are happening in back alleys.
Anyone with information is asked to call the special victims' unit at 215-685-3251.