Woman Maces Rittenhouse Attacker

A little moxie and some mace helped a woman fight off the man who attacked her as she was getting ready to walk into her new apartment in Rittenhouse Square.

"She's a tough girl. We taught her well," her father, Max Jaoen said after the weekend assault. His daughter, 21, had just moved into her apartment earlier that day.

She told police the man, who had a knife, might have followed her home Saturday night from a nearby pizza place. Just as she was about to walk into her building at 21st and Locust, he grabbed and groped her from behind, according to police.

The woman fought back, spraying the man twice in the face with mace. He punched her several times then took off, police said.

"We were thanking God that she was okay," said Jaoen, who expects his daughter to be just fine. "Hopefully she's gonna be more careful, obviously. She's tough. She'll defend herself."

Police are searching for the man she maced.

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