Overview

• Police have linked five sexual assaults between July 17 and August 3 in Center City and South Philadelphia to a likely single offender who approaches women from behind on foot.
• Victims consistently describe the suspect as a Black man about 6 feet tall and slim, aged 25 to 35, with long braids or dreadlocks sometimes tied in a ponytail.
• In each incident the attacker groped women on city streets and then fled on foot without employing a vehicle or weapon.
• One victim sustained minor elbow and knee injuries after she tried to push the assailant away and fell to the ground.
• The Special Victims Unit urges heightened vigilance in early morning hours and has set up a tip line at (215) 686-8477 for residents to report information or unreported cases.