Police need help finding a suspect in an attempted sexual assault on the Lower East Side Thursday night. The unidentified man followed a 17-year old woman into an apartment building near Clinton and Madison streets at about 10 p.m. Police say she was forced from the elevator, in the Laguardia Houses, and into a stairwell with a knife. The woman fought off the attacker, but he got away.
Investigators believe the suspect is also responsible for the rape of a woman in another part of the Laguardia public housing complex on the morning of January 18th, 2010.
The suspect is described as 17 to 25 years old, 5-feet-8-inches to 5-feet-10-inches tall and heavy set. In Thursday’s incident, he was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt. NY1 has surveillance video showing the man inside the elevator.
If you have information about either incident, call Crime stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting tips to 274637 (CRIMES) — enter TIP577.
