On the night of Jan. 17, she was walking in the area of Dixwell Avenue and Hazel Street when life changed.
A normal evening turned into a nightmare at the hands of a serial rapist who had already attacked four women in the Newhallville section of New Haven.
It was at 11:49 p.m. on a Monday night and a man ran up from behind her and tried to rob her. The woman, who NBC Connecticut is keeping anonymous, spoke exclusively with Amanda Raus.
“At first, he tried to rob me, but I told him I didn't have nothing, so after that, he dragged me behind the house, threw me on the ground and he sexually assaulted me,” she said.
He held a gun to her head as he attacked her. Through the horrifying ordeal she cried, just hoping he would let her go.
“It really like hurt me,” she said. “Who would do this to people, to innocent people just walking down the street, trying to get home?”
She is grateful to be alive and hopes police will catch him.
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“It shuts your whole body down on people, period,” she said.
She cautions warns people not to walk alone at night.
“After six o'clock, I don't advise anybody to walk at night, period, because it can happen any time of the day, anywhere,” she said.
Police are looking for the man who has attacked five women in the Newhallville section of New Haven since 2007 and a $50,000 reward is being issued to help solve the case.
“People are aware of the incidents, and we're hoping that with this award, someone will come forward and lead us in the right direction,” Lt. Julie Johnson, of the New Haven Police Department, said.
Police believe the man is from New Haven or has lived in the city, Johnson said.
“He's comfortable in the community. He's comfortable with the areas where he attacks the women and his routes that he uses to flee,” she said.
The community has been fully cooperative as they try and find the man, police said.
“When you violate a kid, or you violate a woman that's powerless, that's just not right,” Charles Blango, a New Haven alderman from Ward 20, said. “I think we need to come together, Superman isn't coming to save us, everyone's who's been captured, they've been captured with some help, and I think we cannot wait until it come knock on our door.”
The man is described as 5-feet-7 to 5-feet-9, about 170 pounds.
The attacks:
- Dec. 31, 2007, a woman was sexually assaulted in the area of Brewster Street and Dixwell Avenue, near the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. The suspect was armed with a handgun.
- Feb. 27, 2008, a man claiming to have a handgun attacked a woman near 49 Brewster Street, again near the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail.
- Aug. 20, 2009, the victim of a sexual assault was found on Butler Street. Police say they are still investigating details of this assault.
- July 11, 2010, a woman was sexually assaulted in the area of Dixwell Avenue and Bassett Street.
- Jan. 17, 2011, police received a call of a woman sexually assaulted behind the garage of a home in the area of Dixwell Avenue and Hazel Street. In this case, the suspect was also carrying a gun.
