Cops seek armed
sexual attacker

A gunpoint robbery and sexual assault at the Jardel Recreation Center last weekend has been linked by Philadelphia police to two similar attacks in other areas of the city last month.
Investigators are connecting the crimes based on the method of the unknown attacker and physical descriptions provided by victims. Particularly, the assailant uses a bicycle to flee his crime scenes.
Last weekend’s incident involved two 15-year-old girls and an 18-year-old male, said Capt. John Darby of the special victims unit. At about 1 a.m. the three victims were at Jardel, at 1500 Cottman Ave. in Burholme, when they were approached by a man. The suspect allegedly pointed a gun at the teens and bound them before indecently assaulting one of the females and sexually assaulting the other. He also stole an undisclosed amount of cash from them and fled on the bike.
The victims freed themselves and contacted family, who called police, Darby said.
They described the attacker as black, age 25 to 30, between 5 feet 11 inches and 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing 190 to 200 pounds. He had light facial hair and wore a gray "hoodie" sweatshirt with red writing on it and stripes around the hood and cuffs. He also wore black Dickie work pants and black and white shoes.
Darby described the bike as light-colored. It may have been spray-painted recently.
The prior incidents included an attack on a 21-year-old woman on April 18 shortly before midnight on the 2400 block of N. Seventh St. On April 19, a male fitting a similar description attacked two 31-year-old women who were walking in the 900 block of N. Second St. at about 11 p.m.
All three prior victims were robbed and sexually assaulted at gunpoint. A bike, previously described as black or silver, was used as the getaway vehicle each time.
Darby noted that all three incidents occurred between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., although they happened in different neighborhoods and involved varying numbers of victims.
"He’s not afraid of groups of people," the captain said of the suspect.
With the arrival of warm weather, many residents like to spend time outdoors. But they should be careful to avoid potentially dangerous situations, particularly late at night when it’s dark and few witnesses are around.
"We certainly want to put this information out (to the public) to minimize the opportunity (for crooks)," Darby said. oo