Cops: Man Grabs Woman's Buttocks At Botanic Garden Subway Station

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Police are on the lookout for a man accused of following a woman off a subway train and groping her.

At around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, a 24-year-old woman boarded an (S) train shuttle at Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights. She told police a man in his 30s sat directly across from her on the train and began to make obscene gestures toward her.

The woman got up from her seat and exited the train at the Botanic Garden stop where the man followed her, police said.

As the woman climbed the stairs to exit the station, the man forcibly grabbed her buttocks from behind, police said. The woman turned around and slapped the man in the face causing him to flee in an unknown direction.

Before the woman exited the train, she was able to take his photo with her cell phone.  Police say they have not connected this attack to the Brooklyn serial groper.

"It makes me feel a little unsafe...knowing something like that happened," Afshaan Rahman told CBS 2's Hazel Sanchez.

"They need a task force to really, really come out here and detectives get on their job. Do what they gotta do. They can catch 'em," Vic Stephens, of Crown Heights, said.

The suspect is described as a black male in his 30s, approximately 6-foot tall with a medium build and balding head. He was wearing light-colored pants, a black jacket with the letter "C" for Champion in white on the front left breast of the jacket and wore eyeglasses.

Anyone with information regarding the identity and whereabouts of this individual is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).  The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.

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