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East Village Residents On Edge As Sexual Assault Suspect Still At Large

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some East Village housing complex residents are on high alert as police hunt for a sexual predator targeting women.

Police have released surveillance video of the man they believe is behind two sexual assaults in recent weeks at the Wald Houses, CBS2's Ilana Gold reported.

Around 6 a.m. Sunday, the suspect allegedly followed a 22-year-old woman into the building and up the stairwell at East Sixth Street and Avenue D before trying to rape her. She escaped to the second floor and was later treated at a hospital for minor injuries.

Neighbor Nalani Nogueras takes the same stairs multiple times a day. She's now being more careful than ever.

"I usally walk up there," she told Gold. "Now I have to watch my back.

"It scares me now," Nogueras added. "Because now I can't go out or anything without my mom worrying."

In another incident just a few buildings away on Dec. 16, the same suspect followed a 19-year-old into the elevator, where he allegedly grabbed her and tried to forcibly kiss her before she fought him off, police said.

"He's a creep," neighbor Nelda Weatherspoon said. "I hope they catch him, I really do."

Detectives are trying to figure out if the man lives in the complex and if he's scouting the women out to see if they're walking alone, making them an easy target.

"I think it's ridiculous," Weatherspoon said. "They should really step up their game here as far as security is concerned."

Police are keeping a close eye on the buildings and doing stakeouts in the neighborhood in an effort to find the man and protect women from being future victims.

"You need to be more careful and more wary of where you are at all times when you come in and who's coming in behind you," Weatherspoon said.

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