Police hope that a sketch can help solve the case as they hunt for a man who they say sexually assaulted a woman and tried to assault two others, including a teenage girl.
"We believe all three of these crimes were committed by the same individual," said Philadelphia Police Special Victims Unit Commanding Officer Cpt. John Darby.
The attacks began last week in Philadelphia's Juniata Park neighborhood.
On Thursday at 6:30 a.m., a 22-year-old woman was walking on the 4100 block of Maywood Street towards SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line Erie-Torresdale station. Suddenly, police say, the suspect, armed with a gun, forced her into a driveway on the 1400 block of E. Lycoming Avenue. Police say he then sexually assaulted her and stole $30 before fleeing the scene.
Later that day, at 11:40 a.m., police say the armed man approached a 20-year-old college student on the 4200 block of O Street -- that's just blocks away from the earlier attack.
The woman, who did not want to be identified, told NBC10 the man tried to force her into a driveway, just as he had done before.
"I wasn't gonna let him take me," the woman said. "My first instinct was that I needed to get away. I couldn't let him take me."
The woman says the suspect grabbed her right arm, pulled out a gun and pointed it at her ribs.
"I begged him," the woman said. "I asked him if he wanted anything. He said he didn't want anything. He kept smiling and smirking at me."
The woman says the man then pulled her toward a nearby dumpster.
"I just kept fighting and fighting," she said. "Then a car just pulled out and saw us. It slowed down and he got scared. He ran so I just ran the opposite way."
The same man then allegedly struck again, this time targetting his youngest victim yet.
On Tuesday at 7:20 a.m., police say a 15-year-old girl was walking on the 4200 block of Neilson Street when suddenly the girl was approached by an unidentified man.
The man allegedly grabbed the girl’s arm and tried to pull her into a driveway. The girl also told police the man claimed he had a gun though she never saw one. The girl managed to escape the man’s grip. The suspect then fled the scene.
The suspect is described as being in his late 20s to mid-30s, standing between 5-foot-8 and 6-feet tall, with a short beard and a gap in his yellowed teeth. Police also say he was wearing a green or blue athletic-type jacket or windbreaker with white piping during all three incidents. Police also say he may be driving a white Sedan.
Police are looking "for any tips," Darby said. "If anybody saw anything give us a call."
If you have any information contact the Philadelphia Police Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3264.
