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Latest Riverside Park Sex Assault Not Linked to Earlier Attacks, Cops Say

Cops say this man tried to rape a 24-year-old woman on a path in Riverside Park, between 122nd and 125th streets on April 13, 2012.
Cops say this man tried to rape a 24-year-old woman on a path in Riverside Park, between 122nd and 125th streets on April 13, 2012.
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NYPD

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS — Police on the hunt for a man who tried to rape a 24-year-old jogger in Riverside Park last week said that while the attack is similar to two unsolved 2010 assaults, they don't believe the same suspect is responsible.

Police are searching for the man who attacked the woman on Friday, April 13, as she was running on a wooded path inside the park at roughly 6 p.m. between West 122nd and West 125th streets, not far from Grant's Tomb and the popular Hudson River Greenway biking and running path.

The man approached her from behind, grabbed her by the neck and choked her, then threw her to the ground and attempted to rape her, police said.

The assault was interrupted by two witnesses, police said. The woman was briefly hospitalized with minor injuries.

The attack echoes a pair of 2010 incidents in the park that remain unsolved, though cops said last week's attack wasn't believed to be related.

The suspect in Friday's attack was described as a Hispanic man between the ages of 35 and 40, who was approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall and 180 pounds, wearing a blue baseball cap and black backpack, both with the Nike "swoosh" symbol.

On July 5, 2010, a man assaulted a 19-year-old Barnard College student as she was jogging about 6 a.m. near the tennis courts near West 120th Street. The attacker grabbed her and slammed her against a wall, knocking her unconscious.

Less than half an hour later, the same man attacked a 48-year-old woman who was walking her dog near West 98th Street inside the park. The attacker knocked the woman to the ground then hit and kicked her.

Police released a sketch and a video of the suspected attacker, who was described as a black male in his 20s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a thin build and black hair. He was last seen wearing blue shorts with blue and white boxer underwear.

No arrests have been made in the 2010 attacks, police said Monday.