Police: Assault Suspect Previously Convicted Of Rape
HAMILTON HEIGHTS, N.Y. (CBS 2/1010 WINS) – Police have arrested and charged a suspect in the sexual assault of a City College student in Hamilton Heights that occurred last week.
Lawrence Elliot, 47, was picked up by police Friday and questioned into Saturday before he was officially charged Sunday.
CBS 2's Derricke Dennis reported Elliot has been charged with predatory sexual assault, criminal assault, criminal sex act, burglary, robbery, kidnapping, sexual abuse and criminal possession of stolen property.
Police said Elliot has attacked several times before with at least one conviction for the rape of an 18-year-old woman in Syracuse.
Police said he is the same man who was seen on surveillance video using the student's stolen ATM card at a convenience store.
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LISTEN: 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck reports
It was last Thursday that police said Elliot approached the 21-year-old victim at her Hamilton Heights apartment building, and forced his way into her home, where he allegedly sexually assaulted the woman.
Shortly after the attack, surveillance cameras at the Seven Seas Deli caught the alleged suspect on camera.
The arrest relieved many of the neighborhood's female residents.
"I think it's great. I think it's a great thing the police department did their job and made an arrest so quickly," Jessica Black said.
For Vanessa, who lives in the same building where the attack happened, it's comforting to know the arrested happened so quickly.
"[I'm] very relieved that he was caught. With him being loose still, I was nervous to even walk down my street," she told 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck. "When I'd get home late from work, I'd call my roommates to make sure they were home just to make myself feel a little better."
Elliott is a registered sex offender stemming from his previous rape conviction.
