Cops: Sex assault suspect is behind more crimes

SPECIAL VICTIMS Unit investigators released surveillance footage yesterday of a suspect in the sexual assault and robbery of a Temple University student who was on her way home from the school's library Monday night.

In the eerie footage, which police said was taken from a SEPTA subway car after the assault, the suspect is seen smiling to himself and appears to be on the verge of laughter as he gets off the train.

Meanwhile, the young woman whose life was forever altered was left cowering at the construction dumpster where she was sexually assaulted, trying to pick up what pieces of herself - and her life - he didn't take.

The suspect - whose photograph was identified by the victim but whose identity has yet to be determined - is also believed to be responsible for at least one of five robberies in the same area as the assault on the student, police said.

Now authorities are asking for the public's help to identify the suspect and get him off the streets.

According to police, the 20-year-old Temple student left the school's library, on Polett Walk near 13th Street in North Philadelphia, about 11:15 p.m. Monday.

When the victim reached Carlisle Street near Master, a man came up from behind her, hit her on the arm with a silver handgun, told her not to scream and pushed her against a construction site wall.

"[The offender] forced the victim behind a construction pod, or dumpster . . . where he robbed her and sexually assaulted her before he fled the location," SVU Capt. John Darby said at a news conference yesterday.

Early on in the investigation, Darby said SVU detectives learned of five point-of-gun robberies that recently occurred within blocks of the assault - several of which happened just last weekend. Some of those incidents involved one offender and some involved more than one, according to police.

Darby said the suspect in the SVU case is also the suspect in "at least" one of those robberies.

As a result, SVU detectives teamed with Central Detectives and SEPTA Transit Police to obtain the clear surveillance footage of their suspect on the subway.

"I say to you that anybody looking at the video clip or stills is going to be able to recognize this male," Darby said. "Someone knows this male. We ask that they give us a call."

Earlier yesterday, police released information on an arrest in one of the five robberies in the area, one which occurred just an hour before the sexual assault of the student.

In that incident, police said Naiem Lester, 18, of 10th Street near Thompson and another man threw a 23-year-old woman to the ground on Thompson Street near 15th around 10:02 p.m. Monday.

A witness was able to beat the men off of the girl with a purse before one of the men fired three shots, grabbed the victim's handbag and fled the scene, police said.

Lester turned himself into police on Wednesday and was charged with robbery, aggravated assault and related offenses.

Darby would not say if the second, as-of-yet unidentified, suspect in the Thompson Street robbery was the man who is suspected in the sexual assault and robbery of the Temple student.

Anyone with information on the identity of the suspect or his whereabouts is asked to call the department's tip line at 215-686-8477, SVU at 215-685-3251 or call 9-1-1.

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