Woman choked with belt, sexually assaulted on New York street; suspect at-large
NEW YORK - The NYPD is investigating a disturbing viral video that appears to show a sexual assault they say happened in the Bronx earlier this month.
Police say the incident happened at around 5 a.m. on May 1.
The victim, a 45-year-old woman, is seen walking on the sidewalk at East 152nd Street and Third Avenue when the suspect, obscuring his face with a white towel or shirt, approaches her from behind, takes out a belt, and wraps it around the woman's neck.
The man pulls the woman to the ground, holding her until she loses consciousness, before dragging her between two cars. Police say the suspect then sexually assaulted the woman.
The victim was taken to NYC Health & Hospitals/Lincoln in stable condition.
WANTED for RAPE: On 5/01 at 5 AM in the vicinity of East 152 Street and 3 Avenue in the Bronx, a 45-year-old female was walking when an unknown individual approached her from behind, wrapped an object around her neck, and pulled her to the ground causing her to lose… pic.twitter.com/GXqMamhxwl
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 10, 2024
The suspect is described as a man with a medium complexion, standing 5 feet 9 inches tall, wearing a black sweatshirt with white lettering that reads "GAP," white sweatpants and black-red-white sneakers.
According to the latest NYPD statistics, there has been a 5.1% increase in rapes this year. As of May 5, a total of 511 rapes had been reported in the city,
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, on Twitter @NYPDTips.
Police say all calls are strictly confidential.
