Sexual Assault on 6th Ave btwn 23rd/24th Sts. today 02/12/09

From one of the list servs I belong to:

just came back along 7th Ave and found a disturbing flyer on a pole on 20th Street (see attached).

It said there was a "A woman was sexually assaulted btwn 23rd & 24th Streets on 6th Avenue" this morning, 02.12.09 around 7:14am

The perp "was last seen fleeing down 24th Street on a mountain bike wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt"

Does anyone have an more news on this? Most disturbing since this particular area of South Brooklyn has been very safe form many years. While I would hope this terrible incident is isolated, I do want to make sure CB7 and the 72nd Pct. are on-top of this.

E-mail me directly, or [email hidden] AFTER calling the 72nd Pct. at 718-965-6311 if you have any information.

Hopefully we'll have an update tomorrow. I hope whomever was attacked is OK, outside of this act of violence.

Anyone know anything about this?

Not cool! :evil:

This is scary. That is the block right along the cemetery across from the power plant?

I run around the cemetery several times a week. Usually I'm out a bit later, but still. Yikes.

There's a piece running on News 12. More informational, but good to get the word out.

I have to believe all the construction on 5th Ave, and the blocking off of 6th Ave btwn 23rd/24th Sts, did not help to the safety of that stretch.

Terrible, but hopefully isolated.

In case anyone wanted to read/watch the News 12 story, here's a link to it

http://www.news12.com/BK/topstories/article?id=225742

This from news12.com:

BROOKLYN - Police are searching for a man who sexually assaulted a 31-year-old woman in Greenwood Heights early Thursday morning. Authorities say the woman was walking on 6th Avenue between 23rd and 24th streets at around 7:15 a.m. when a man on a mountain bike groped her from behind and then fled.
Local residents were troubled by news of the daytime assault. Posters have been plastered throughout the neighborhood, urging people to be alert.
Police say the victim did not clearly see her attacker, but they say the man was last seen wearing a dark hooded shirt. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
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If this account is accurate, the women was groped. Being groped is highly personally invasive and just wrong. "Sexually assaulted" brings images of rape or attempted rape. I have talked to a couple of people who were highly alarmed and panicked. For me, the uncertainty of the situation was very unsettling.

In no way do I condone what happened to the woman and I understand why its important to get the information out. Given these bad economic times and pending budget cuts which may effect public safety, we should all be more vigilant but it is important that we don't overreact to situations before we have all the facts. Over reacting can cause unnecessary stress and and unwarranted sense of panic.

In my book "groped" is sexual assault. I'm not breathing a sigh of relief right now, and I don't think the signage was an overreaction. I think it was a reminder that people need to be vigilant and watch out for their surroundings.

Yeah, I guess if the sign had said GROPED instead of SEXUALLY ASSAULTED, it just wouldn't have had the same impact.

Anyone know how News 12 was tipped to this important news story?

I assume News 12 was alerted by one of the local community group's list serv.

There will be a piece in this week's Park Slope Courier, according to a friend.

while i really hate having to grade sexual assaults, the fact that this was groping and not raping makes me far less terrified when i walk in that nabe.

Certainly hate to down play..but (no pun intended).

I hate to get into semantics here, as this is a violent act no matter what. But really--groping is not "sexual assault." Calling it such only minimizes the trauma and horror of rape.

Agreed, but we should not downplay what happened to the victim. Just clarify.

Offenders are seldom content with just "groping" and will inevitably graduate to worse offenses. As far as I'm concerned ANY unwanted touching is "sexual assault."

What she said.