News: Elderly Woman Assaulted in NYC
(Long Island, N.Y.) An eighty-five-year-old woman was hospitalized with cuts and bruises after being sexually assaulted early Monday morning. The woman, who claimed that she couldn’t sleep, was taking a stroll for exercise down a block that is frequented by joggers. She was close to her home when a man accosted her and robbed her jewelry.
The incident occurred around twenty minutes before six that morning and the woman was in stable condition before being released. The Upper East Side neighborhood is affluent, close to Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the attack happened on Madison Avenue and 83rd Street. A series of high-end boutiques, restaurants, and luxury apartments are also located there.
The woman was put in a headlock, dragged down the stairs of a building, and allegedly forced to perform oral sex. She was robbed of her ring, which was an item she claimed to have owned for over fifty years. Surveillance video captured the attack.
The man is described as a light-skinned Hispanic between the ages of twenty-five and thirty. He appears to be five-feet-and-ten-inches tall and has a thin to muscular build. He has tattoos on both forearms and was wearing a white tank top and jean shorts at the time of the attack.
The surveillance video captures the man pretending to talk on his cell phone prior to the attack as well as fleeing, and authorities on the case were able to take and release photos of the assailant. The Manhattan borough president helped to distribute flyers of the attacker and urged fellow residents that everyone has a stake in capturing the criminal. On Tuesday night he traveled through the neighborhood saying that the police need help, and claiming “if you see something, say something.”
Reports stated that one witness claimed that the suspect asked for the time and directions to the 86th Street subway. Investigators and detectives have patrolled through neighborhoods and broadcasted messages on loudspeakers concerning the attack. The woman’s clothing has been tested for DNA evidence, and police urged anyone with information to come forward.
In a separate case, a sixty-five-year-old woman and retired newspaper editor claimed to have been attacked in the same area. The neighborhood, which is allegedly blocks from Mayor Bloomberg’s home, has a reputation of being safe. Nonetheless, the recent incidents have residents wondering if there is any safe place left in Manhattan.
The building’s doorman came to the aid of the hundred-pound elderly woman. He claimed that the she was disoriented and that the attack happened within seconds. He found her with scratches across her legs from where she had been dragged.
Reports stated that police have reason to believe that the suspect is from out-of-town and had been visiting family. One source claimed that the man was from New Jersey. Friends and family of the victim stated that she lives alone but has been with relatives since the attack.
