Daniel Maurer A man sexually assaulted a woman in her First Avenue building early this morning, according to the police.
A police spokesman said that the victim was walking up the stairwell of her building between 12th and 13th Streets at around 3:20 a.m. when the man pushed her to the ground from behind. He then pulled up the victim’s skirt, said “keep quiet,” and pretended to have a gun in his hand.
The victim – whose age was not available – managed to escape into her apartment and call 911. The police spokesman said the suspect is white and in his 20s.
The assault is the first publicized incident of its kind since September, when a woman was allegedly raped on Eighth Street by a man with a long history of mental illness.
According to police statistics, there have been 11 rapes this year within the confines of the Ninth Precinct, which covers the East Village. Last year, there were 12 reported to the police.
