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A woman reported that she was sexually assaulted by a man at popular Rittenhouse Square early Friday morning and a suspect was in custody later that evening, Philadelphia police said.
The woman, who is 27 years old and lives in the area, told police that attack happened near 18th and Walnut streets around 1:35 a.m. Friday as she was walking home.
Lorinzo M. Clark, 42, was taken into custody on Friday night, the special victims unit told NBC10. He was charged with rape, robbery and related offenses.
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Clark forced the victim between two tents which had been set up in anticipation of this weekend's fine arts show at the square, Special Victims Unit Captain James Kearney said. A security guard intervened and said something to the effect of "Hey, what's going on there?" prompting Clark to run off, the police captain said.
On Friday morning, police detectives could be seen in the park, which was set up for an art show over the weekend.
The attack followed another sexual assault just hours earlier in the East Mount Airy section of the city. In that case, police said a man beat and sexually assaulted a 71-year-old woman in her home.
“It’s disturbing. I get worked up over it,” an emotional Kearny said in reference to both cases. “It’s disturbing. People go about their daily lives and to be interrupted with a traumatic incident like this is concerning. So, we need the help. We need people to come up and step forward and be this great city that I know it is.”
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.
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