Man charged with sexual assault of 71-year-old woman on Baltimore trail
BALTIMORE -- Baltimore Police say they have caught the person who allegedly sexually assaulted a 71-year-old woman in Leakin Park earlier this month.
"I hope that soon that issue of safety is addressed," friends of Gywnns Falls/Leakin Park Vice President Bridget McCusker said.
Baltimore Police said they arrested 46-year-old Charles Taylor of Baltimore who was depicted in a sketch released earlier this month.
Ever since the attack, neighborhood residents have been on edge.
"We want people to come to the park feeling that it's a safe environment for me to bring my children or my family," McCusker said.
Neighbors tell WJZ they are concerned for their safety, especially in the wake of recent attacks at other trails in the area.
On Nov. 16, a man attempted to sexually assault a woman on the Red Run Valley Stream Trail in Owings Mills, according to the Baltimore County Police Department.
"It doesn't make sense," Jacob Milner of Pikesville said. "I've done this walk every single day and I've never seen anything close to it."
Another attack happened Wednesday on the Jones Fall Trail near Mt. Washington Children's Hospital. That's where police said a woman was assaulted by a juvenile as she was walking. Hospital staff say the woman was a patient's parent.
The suspects have not been caught in either of those cases or in the case of Rachel Morin, the mother of five who was murdered after going for a walk on the Ma and Pa Heritage Trail in Harford County back in August.
Investigators do not think the incidents are related. They do want to remind people who walk on trails to be aware of their surroundings, though.
They are urging people to turn on trapping technology or apps on their phones and share their location so that someone else will know where they are.
People who live near Leakin Park say the Baltimore City Recreation and Parks and Baltimore Police will hold a meeting next week to address safety concerns in the park.
The meeting will be held at the Cahill Recreation Center on Clifton Avenue at 6 p.m. on Nov. 28.
