First Of Unsolved Attempted Rapes In Area Took Place Seven Months Ago
Wednesday, April 20 is almost exactly seven months ago. And a lot has happened since then — in our neighborhood, our politics, and in our topical priorities.
On that day, a 23-year-old woman, who was running inside Prospect Park near Garfield Place around 5:15am, was approached from behind by an unknown attacker and thrown to the ground. The assailant, who was armed with a knife, threatened to rape the woman but he eventually fled after struggling with her, according to cops.
Seven months later, a police spokesperson said a suspect has not been caught and “the case is still open.”
The April 20 incident was one of five attempted rape incidents which lasted in our area until July 12. A police spokesperson confirmed that they have not located suspects in any of the incidents.
On July 20, police said they were investigating the possibility of single ‘suspect connection’ in four of the five attempted rape incidents which took place in the Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, and Prospect Heights neighborhoods between May 22 and July 12.
“At this point, nothing has proven that to be completely accurate,” said a police spokesperson.
Listed below is the incident information. We’re still hoping the community can provide information to help solve these cases.
Suspect information for April 20 incident in Prospect Park
Police describe the suspect as male, approximately six feet tall, 185 lb with short hair, light facial hair, and wearing a black sweatsuit.
Incident on Sunday, May 22
A 21-year-old woman escaped from an attempted rape Sunday, May 22 at approximately 3:30am near the intersection of 7th Avenue and 2nd Street. Police released a sketch of the suspect as well as a photo of the dark-colored 4-door Acura the suspect fled in after the incident. Police describe the suspect as male, light-skinned, of Indian or Middle Eastern descent, approximately 5’10′” with a thin build, short hair, and short facial hair.
Footage of incident on Sunday, June 26. Please note the footage includes graphic content. (Video via NYPD)
Incident on Sunday, June 26
A 34-year-old woman escaped from an attempted rape Sunday, June 26 at approximately 3:50am in front of 586 16th Street. Cops released new images four days after the event. Police describe the suspect as male, white, having curly black hair, approximately 20-30 years old, 5’11”, and 180 lb. He was last seen wearing a blue t-shirt and pants.
Footage of suspect from Saturday, July 2 incident. (Video via NYPD)
Incident on Saturday, July 2
A 23-year-old woman escaped from an attempted rape Saturday, July 2 at approximately 4:40am in the vicinity of 7th Ave and Garfield Place. Police describe the suspect as male, approximately 25-30 years old, 5’10”-6’0″ tall, and 150-170 lb. He was last seen wearing a black hoodie and black sweatpants.
Incident on Tuesday, July 12
A 30-year-old woman escaped from an attempted rape Tuesday, July 12 at approximately 12:50am near the intersection of Park Place and Vanderbilt Avenue. Police describe the suspect as Hispanic, between 20-30 years old, and approximately 160 lb.
We encourage you to provide any information you may have on these cases to Crime Stoppers. A man responsible for at lease five attacks on elderly women was arrested in late April because of a tip by a witness to Crime Stoppers.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting your tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Police say all calls are confidential.