Police are searching for the creep who sexually assaulted a young woman on the Upper East Side, groping her in front of the Whole Foods store just before sunset.
Investigators say the 25-year-old victim was walking past the supermarket, located at 1551 Third Avenue, between East 87th and 88th Street, around 4:30 in afternoon on Friday, January 6th, when the suspect snuck up on her from behind and grabbed her buttocks, violating the complete stranger.
After groping the woman, police say the suspect ran into the Whole Foods Market entrance to get away from the scene. However, before fleeing the supermarket’s exit near East 87th Street, the suspect exposed his face to the store’s surveillance cameras.
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Detectives describe the suspect in last month’s attack as a man in his mid 20s, standing 5’8” tall with a medium build and brown hair. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, gray sweatpants and black sneakers, according to investigators.
This is the second sexual assault at that location in just over two years. Back in April 2021, a 52-year old woman was groped inside the Whole Foods store. The two incidents are not connected.
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Sexual assaults are surging on the Upper East Side this year. Three rapes reported to police in January, in addition to eleven other sex crimes, according to NYPD data. That’s up from the two rapes and nine other sex crimes reported during the same period a year ago.
If you recognize the groping suspect or have any information that can help police, you’re asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477.
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