The serial sex offender who's been terrorizing south Park Slope, Sunset Park, and Bay Ridge since April has struck again... and again. Last week a Park Slope resident said she fended off an attempted rape while walking to her home on 12th street between 8th Ave and Prospect Park West, around 11:30 p.m. ("One of his arms was around my neck and he was pulling me backwards, and his other hand [I was wearing a dress] went up my skirt," she recalled in an email to FiPS.) Now two more assaults have been reported in Sunset Park.
On September 3rd, a woman was thrown to the ground in Sunset Park by an assailant who attempted to rip her underwear off. Police sources tell the Daily News her roommate and neighbors came to her rescue after she screamed, and chased the man away. This assault occurred one day after the perpetrator grabbed another woman from behind in the same neighborhood, put his hand up her skirt and groped her, before she successfully fended him off.
Police say it's unclear if these two assaults were carried out by the same suspect behind last week's Park Slope rape attempt, but their investigation may be hindered by their failure to show up after that victim called 911. Elizabeth Jeglic, a professor at Manhattan’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice and expert on sex offenders, tells the Brooklyn Paper, "It doesn’t sound like the individual is very sophisticated. If the goal was really to rape someone, he would likely be more successful. And the fact that he’s continuing despite all the publicity would indicate something’s driving him to do this."
As part of an attempt to increase community awareness about the attacks, there will be a rally and march tomorrow evening. Organized by Safe Slope, a group formed last month, the "Take Back Our Streets" rally will begin by the Prospect Avenue R stop on 4th Avenue at 17th Street at 8 p.m., ending at the Detective Joseph Mayrose Park on 17th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. Council Speaker Christine Quinn; Council Members Sara Gonzalez and Brad Lander are expected to join the rally, and at the park the Center for Anti-Violence Education will offer a mini self-defense demonstration. (You can also sign up for a series of free self-defense classes they are offering in collaboration with Council Members Sara Gonzalez and Brad Lander.)
The group is also launching a Safe Walk program in South Slope/Greenwood Heights/Windsor Terrace on Thursday through Sunday nights, between 8:00pm and 3:00am. Safe Walk volunteers will provide “pick-ups” at local establishments and subway stops and will provide “drop-offs” anywhere between 9th and 30th Streets and between 2nd and 8th Avenues in Brooklyn. The number to call if you want a Safe Walk volunteer to join you is T.B.A. And if you are interested in volunteering, the group urges you to email them at safeslope@gmail.com.
