Police have arrested a suspect in the attempted rape of a young woman on the Lower East Side early Wednesday morning.
Cops circulated surveillance images yesterday. Acting on a tip, they took 45-year old Sean Walker of Queens into custody.
The attack happened near Suffolk and Stanton streets at about 3 a.m. on Wednesday. Walker is accused of removing clothing from the 21-year-old woman, and then lying on top of her. Police said the woman was intoxicated and drifting in-and-out of consciousness. A passerby came along and scared the suspect away.
According to WCBS, Walker was charged with first degree sexual abuse. NY1 cited sources who indicated that Walker and the victim had been talking earlier in the evening. A few more details from Channel 7:
Police say the victim had been out drinking in the East Village before she headed home intoxicated around 1:30 a.m. She met her would-be assailant on the street, and they went into a Duane Reade on 2nd Street to get some snacks. She reportedly told investigators she didn’t remember the rest. Police say when she arrived home just a few blocks away, she passed out on her stoop. That’s where authorities say that (a) bicyclist saw Walker with his pants off on top of the woman, trying to remove her clothes.
The woman was taken to Beth Israel Hospital and later released.
