Exclusive: Husband Of Victim In Queens Attempted Rape Speaks To CBS2
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A woman was followed, grabbed by the neck, and forced to the ground in Queens. Police say the assailant then tried to rape her, but the victim fought him off.
It happened early in the morning of June 29 in Ozone Park while the 30-year-old woman was walking home from the subway near Glenmore Avenue and 79th Street. Surveillance video from nearby shows the suspect throw what looks like an article of clothing over his shoulder either right before or seconds after the attack.
The woman's husband spoke exclusively to CBS2's Marc Liverman. He didn't wish to be identified, but says the attack happened fast.
"This dude could have murdered her," he said. "She punched him back, she started hitting his neck, groin as fast as she could and then he took off."
She started running towards her house when her husband says a cab pulled up nearby. She ran to it, and the suspect slowly started walking away. Luckily, she was unhurt in the ordeal.
"When it first happened I never seen my wife like that," the husband said. "She couldn't walk without jumping, she couldn't even move even in the daylight. She couldn't walk on the side of the street because of what happened."
Even though the attack happened nearly a month ago, the suspect is still on the loose. The victim's husband fears he may live nearby.
"I'm almost positive he got off the train, saw him, and then the train took off," he said.
He says his only hope is that his wife's attacker is brought to justice so she can start living her life again.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74682). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
