New York City police are searching for a suspect captured on surveillance video hooking a belt around a woman's neck to drag her away and rape her while she was unconscious.
Surveillance footage released by the NYPD shows the suspect, a black male wearing a blue Gap sweatshirt, walking behind the victim, a 45-year-old woman, on a sidewalk in the area of East 152nd Street and 3rd Avenue in the Bronx at around 5 a.m. on May 1.
The suspect can be seen looping a belt and lassoing it around her neck, pulling her backward to the ground and "causing her to lose consciousness," police said. He drags the woman between two parked cars, where he proceeded to sexually assault her, according to police. The suspect fled on foot. The victim was brought to NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, and is expected to recover. The NYPD's Special Victims Unit is investigating the assault. Police are asking anyone with information about the suspect or the incident to come forward or submit an anonymous tip.
--with reporting by TMX