IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION ON WHERE TO FIND THE ATTACKER PLEASE CALL POLICE: 1-212-267-RAPE BROOKLYN, NEW YORK (July 16, 2016)
Police are searching for a man that violently attacked and raped a 60-year-old woman in the boiler room of an apartment complex by 463 Berriman Street in East New York, according to ABC 7. Police officers received a call at around 6:00 a.m. that a woman had been repeatably punched in the face and raped. The woman was grabbed from behind and dragged in the boiler room. The sexual assault took place in the basement of the apartment building on Berriman Street. Officials are saying that the victim was with a friend prior to the assault collecting recyclables. Authorities have been able to identify the suspect as black and wearing maintenance type clothing before fleeing. An investigation into the attack is being done by Brooklyn Special Victims Squad. Some of the residents of the apartment building where the rape took place say that the basement has had a history of break ins. The super of the building has made some attempts to secure it, but the break ins kept happening. One of the key elements of negligence is foreseeability. The history of break ins at this apartment complex likely made it foreseeable that there would be future break ins. The property owner at the apartment building where the assault took place may therefore be liable for assaults resulting from break ins. Had the basement been properly secured in such a way to prevent future break-ins, then this tragedy may never have happened. We implore the NYPD to conduct a thorough investigation into this vicious assault. There needs to be steps taken IMMEDIATELY to properly secure the basement of the apartment in order to prevent a similar attack. Unfortunately, many property owners fail to keep their premises safe until they are left facing down an enormous lawsuit. Thy NYPD Has Provided a Photo of a Possible Suspect: