A woman walking through Prospect Park narrowly escaped being raped after she was attacked and sexually assaulted by a man, police said Thursday.
The 27-year-old victim was strolling near the Dog Beach area of the park near Fallkill Falls shortly after 9 p.m. Monday when an unknown assailant wearing a white hat came up from behind her and lifted up her skirt, police said.
The man, who police say is between 30 and 40 years old, with a medium build and a medium complexion, pulled down the woman’s underwear and pushed her to the ground, according to cops.
The victim was able to fight him off until he gave up and fled, police said.
The woman suffered minor cuts to the left and right knees but refused medical treatment at the scene.
The Prospect Park Alliance said that there have been few problems in the park recently.
“Crime is relatively low in the park, but any incident that endangers the safety of park visitors is very concerning and taken seriously by the Alliance and our partners at NYPD and NYC Parks,” Alliance spokeswoman Deborah Kirschner said.
There were no assaults reported in the park in the first three months of the year, according to NYPD statistics.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at (800)-577-TIPS.