Woman suffocated with belt, sexually assaulted on New York street; Suspect at large

NEW YORK – The NYPD is investigating a disturbing viral video that appears to show a sexual assault that allegedly took place in the Bronx earlier this month.

According to police, the incident occurred around 5 a.m. on May 1.

The victim, a 45-year-old woman, is seen on the sidewalk at East 152nd Street and Third Avenue when the suspect, covering his face with a white towel or shirt, approaches her from behind, produces a belt and wraps it around her around the woman’s neck.

The man tackles the woman to the ground and holds her until she loses consciousness before dragging her between two cars. Police believe the suspect then sexually abused the woman.

The victim was taken to NYC Health & Hospitals/Lincoln in stable condition.

The suspect is described as a man with medium skin tone, 1.70 meters tall, wearing a black sweatshirt with “GAP” written on it in white, white sweatpants and black, red and white sneakers.

According to the latest NYPD statistics, there has been a 5.1% increase in rapes this year. As of May 5, a total of 511 rapes were reported in the city.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or in Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/on Twitter @NYPDTips.

According to police, all calls are strictly confidential.