High-Intensity Search In Progress In Rape Of Girl, 12, In The Bronx
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A 12-year-old girl who was raped last week in the Bronx was changing buses on her way back from school when the suspect forced her into an alleyway, police said Monday.
The attack happened just before 6:30 p.m. this past Tuesday. The girl was walking in the area of East Tremont Avenue and Southern Boulevard when police said the suspect walked up to her, grabbed her and threatened to kill her if she screamed, police said.
"She got on the first bus, and then got off for her transfer bus in the vicinity of Southern Boulevard and East Tremont," NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said in a WCBS 880 report Monday. "While she was sitting in the bus stop, this individual approached her with a simulated weapon in his right pocket, and forced her into an alleyway, and then raped her."
Surveillance video shows him as he first attempts to take her into two buildings on East 179th Street. After realizing the doors were locked, he forced the girl into an alley near Daly Avenue where he raped her, police said.
The girl then ran home to her mother, who called police. The girl was taken to the hospital and later released.
Police conducting a high-intensity search for the assailant, Boyce said.
"We've deployed a lot of resources into the field. The perpetrator is described as 16 or 17 years old, so school safety is playing a big role in this investigation as well," he said.
Investigators said the victim and the suspect did not know each other and that it was a random attack on the street. Police describe the suspect as a dark-skinned male, around 5 feet 2 inches tall.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
