Woman Sexually Assaulted, Robbed at S.I. Bus Stop

A 24-year-old woman was sexually assaulted and robbed while waiting for a bus at busy Richmond Hill Road at 7:30PM. The bus stop, between Vassar and Merry Mount Streets, is, as the Staten Island Advances points out, just a "quarter-mile from both the Staten Island Mall and the 122nd Precinct satellite police station."

The victim was grabbed from behind and taken through an open gate into a home's backyard. There, the attacker, claiming he had a gun,forced her to perform a sexual act and then stole her iPod and cash. He left when the home's owner came home and saw two people in her backyard.

Homeowner Susie Lee told the Advance, "When I got to the backyard, the girl came out crying, and that's when she called the cops." The police dogs could only trace the suspect's scent for a few blocks. The police say the suspect is a black male, in his late teens, around 5'5".

Neighbors say the area is very quiet, though one told WCBS 2, it was "a little shady" recently.