Police: Sketch shows man wanted for attack on sunbathers in Central Park

NEW YORK – A new sketch of the man has been released, police say a woman attacked while sunbathing Earlier this week in Central Park.

According to the New York Police Department, the man exposed himself and then attacked the woman.

It happened in broad daylight on Monday near West Drive and 104th Street on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

According to police, the 21-year-old victim was sunbathing alone when he was attacked.

“She sees a black man coming toward her and exposing himself. She screams and jumps up to run away. He grabs her from behind.” John Chell, chief of patrol for the NYPD, said on Monday:.

She managed to fend off the man and he ran away.

Using drones, detectives combed the Great Hill section of the park and searched the surrounding area for possible surveillance images.

Investigators said they were looking for a man of medium build with curly hair, probably in his thirties.

Random attacks in Central Park, increase in robberies

Several random attacks have been reported in the park this year, including a Stone thrown at “Boardwalk Empire” actor Michael Stuhlbarg in May and a woman who was hit with a hammer hours later.

About a month later, two people robbed at gunpoint two days apart.

NYPD crime statistics through April 21 showed an increase in robberies in the Central Park Precinctfrom 3 at the beginning of 2023 to 15 in the same period this year.

The Central Park Conservancy has a map showing the locations of all emergency call boxes in the park.

Anyone with information about the recent attack is asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477)or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or DM on Twitter, @NYPDTipsAll calls are treated confidentially.