Aug 17, 2007 4:33 pm US/Eastern
Witnesses Wanted In Esplanade Sex Assaults
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Authorities are looking for five people who may have information regarding two sexual assaults that happened along the Esplanade earlier this summer.
The first assault happened on June 16 shortly after 11 p.m. A woman was jogging at the Charles River Esplanade on a path near the Massachusetts Avenue bridge when a man attacked her.
Police are looking for a man who was in the area around 11:15 p.m. and may have seen the victim and the assailant.
The second assault happened in the early-morning hours of July 29 when a woman was abducted at knifepoint on Beacon Street and was forced to walk to the Esplanade, where she was sexually assaulted and robbed.
Police are looking for a pair of bicyclists wearing helmets and cycling gear who were walking their bikes near the footbridges between 4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. that same morning. A man and a woman in the their late 20s were also seen that morning near Joe's American Bar and Grill at Dartmouth and Newbury streets. They are also being sought by police. Police said they were seen between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. and were wearing similar clothing.
Police said the five people may have valuable information needed to help catch the rapist.
The rapist is described as a heavily built black man with a shaved head in his late 20s or early 30s. He is believed to stand between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall and weigh about 200 pounds.
Forensic results have linked both sex assaults to the same man, who has also been linked to a third assault that happened the same month near Moakley Park in South Boston.
Anyone with information about the crime or the suspect, or anyone who was in the area at the time of either assault, is urged to contact the State Police Barracks in Boston at 617-727-6780, or call the Boston Police Crime Stoppers line at 617-494-TIPS. Tips can also be anonymously placed by texting the work "tip" to CRIME (27463).
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
