Wednesday, September 12th, 2012

UPDATE 6:00 pm: 73-year-old victim had recently photographed her alleged attacker masturbating in Central Park

UPDATE  9/13: Suspect reportedly in custody

UPDATE 9/13: NY Post interviews Central Park rape victim: “Kill him. Cut off his penis.”

UPDATE 9/14: Details On Central Park Rape Suspect — This Guy Is A Fucking Psychopath

UPDATE 10/10: Accused Central Park Rapist Pleads “Not Guilty”; Allegedly Assaulted Two Other UWS Women On Day Of Attack

Details are still coming in on this, but apparently a women in her 70s was attacked and raped in Central Park earlier today.

The incident allegedly took place near Strawberry Fields — located on the West side of the park between 71st & 74th Streets — just before noon.

DNAinfo has the most complete write-up, but CBS-NY and WSJ each have short posts (this is as of 4:30 pm Wednesday — they’ll probably update their posts throughout the rest of the day).

All three sites call the incident a “sexual assault” in their ledes, but DNAinfo reports the victim told the passerby who found her she was raped. Per DNA:

Eric Ozawa, 34, was bird-watching in the park when he spotted the woman sprawled across a path in Strawberry Fields, he said.

When he approached, she sat up and motioned him over. That’s when he noticed that she had a black eye and her whole face was swollen and covered in mulch.

“She said she’d been raped, so I took out my phone and called 911,” said Ozawa, a writing professor at New York University who lives in the Village.

The woman, who told Ozawa she was also in the park to bird-watch, said her attacker had smashed her head into the ground, Ozawa said. The assailant also stole her camera, backpack and wallet, Ozawa said.

The attacker is described as “a man in his 40s” — no arrests have been made.

There are discrepancies in the victim’s reported age — DNA says 70, WSJ writes “in her 70s,” and CBS reports 73.

Pretty horrific story. I’m sure there will be more information reported later today and tomorrow — I’ll post an update when additional details are available.

This story comes on the heels of a 19-year-old woman who reported being raped in Riverside Park last week.

Filed under: Central Park, Crime, Landmark, Manhattan, New York City, News, NYC, Seniors, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog, UWS 7 Comments »
Tags: Attack, Central Park, Central Park attack, Central Park Crime, Central Park Rape, Crime, David Albert Mitchell, Eric Ozawa, New York City, NYC, NYPD, Rape, Sexual Assault, Strawberry Fields, Upper West Side, UWS