Police are searching for the suspect in a sexual assault that took place early yesterday morning in the Bronx. A 15-year-old girl was found "with extensive physical injuries" at Bronx Park, and NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said she was attacked "rather dramatically... We believe she fought very hard."
Investigators say that around 4:40 a.m. on Monday the victim "met an unknown male at the Gun Hill Road subway station and the two walked together to Bronx Park, near the corner of Bronx Boulevard and East 213 Street." There, she was attacked: WCBS 2 reports that her "head was stomped [on] and teeth [were] knocked out before being sexually assaulted."
The victim regained consciousness hours later, and while "[s]tumbling and in and out of consciousness," she walked back towards Gun Hill Road, where a concerned person drove her to Montefiore Hospital. "Her head injuries are extensive and have caused memory loss, causing her to have trouble recollecting the traumatic events," according to A Walk in the Park.
The suspect, who fled eastbound on East 213 Street, is described as being approximately 25 years old and 5'10" tall with a medium build. He was last seen wearing a black Champion hooded sweatshirt bearing the "C" logo, blue jeans, gray Timberland boots and black gloves. He also had scabs on his lips. Authorities released this surveillance video of the suspect from 3575 Bronx Boulevard, a few blocks from the attack.
Chief Boyce said of Bronx Park, "The place is well known to me. I have an open homicide. I don't think they are related at this point, there isn't enough information."
Anyone with information in regards 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 WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.
