NYPD: Man Tries To Rape 59-Year-Old Woman Inside Her East Harlem Apartment
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police Thursday evening were warning the public about an alleged would-be rapist in East Harlem.
As CBS 2's John Slattery reported, police said the suspect sneaked into an apartment in a building on East 106th Street, and forced himself onto a woman who had been asleep.
The 59-year-old victim, who will not be identified for this story, said it was traumatic.
"I feel so bad; my nerves are bad," the woman said in Spanish. "I feel desperation."
It happened in the woman's upper-floor tenement where she moved in 1981 from Ecuador. It was around 12:30 a.m. on Monday of last week.
The woman said she was sleeping with the TV on. A male intruder came through an open window off the fire escape, and grabbed her foot.
The woman recounted that she said, "No, no, no," and started screaming. He told her to be quiet. She said neighbors didn't respond, and her dog didn't either.
But as the screaming continued, the attacker stopped, ran to the window where he came in, and went up the fire escape to the roof.
The victim believed he had gained access to the building either from the roof or from the rear courtyard below, and up the fire escape.
The woman tried to call police, but was so rattled she ended up contacting a friend in the Bronx, who made the call.
Detectives dusted the area near the window for prints. Despite security cameras in the building and outside, police put out only a sketch.
The suspect is described as a heavy-set, light-skinned Hispanic male, approximately 25 years old, with short black hair, 5'6" tall and weighing 220 pounds. He was wearing khaki pants and a similar colored t-shirt, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips to the Crime Stoppers website or text their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
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