Philadelphia police hope surveillance images of a man wearing a NASA hoodie helps them track down the suspect in at least two recent sex assaults of women exiting or about to enter SEPTA trolley cars in Center City.
Just days after surveillance video surfaced of him wearing a NASA sweater after one alleged assault, a man has been charged with fondling a woman at a SEPTA trolley stop and another inside a Wawa store in Philadelphia.
Tyree Blake, 30, is charged with indecent assault and harassment for both the July 30 and Aug. 7 incidents, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
The latest assault happened shortly before noon near 19th and Market streets, police said in a news release Monday. The woman told police she had exited an eastbound SEPTA trolley and was walking up the stairs to exit the station when "an unknown male sexually assaulted her."
The man then walked off eastbound on Market Street, police said.
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SEPTA police had investigated a similar assault on Wednesday, Aug. 3, where a 17-year-old girl said a man wearing the same type of NASA hoodie followed her to a trolley stop under JFK Plaza, near Philadelphia City Hall. However, the DA’s office on Thursday did not link Blake to that attack.
The July 30 incident involved Blake allegedly fondling a woman at a Wawa on 19th and Market streets.
Blake had an open misdemeanor case from 2020 that is being investigated by the Mental Health Court, the DA’s office said.
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Blake is being represented by a public defender, according to online court records. NBC10 reached out to the Defender Association of Philadelphia for comment.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.
