A serial groper is on the loose in Park Slope. He raped at least four women in nighttime attacks near Prospect Park, police officers and frightened victims told the Washington Post.
All of the attacks occurred within an eight-block radius of Prospect Park West between July 27 and August 14. The pervert, dubbed the “Park Slope Prowler” by some, ran up to each of the women, grabbed them by the buttocks, and ran off into the darkness.
“I’m scared he’s going to rape someone – or worse,” said the victim of the August 14 attack, who is in his 30s and has lived in the neighborhood since 2020. “Seeing how easily he was able to do that to me is alarming.”
“Women in the area need to be careful of this creep,” continued the woman, who was walking her dog shortly before 1 a.m. when the groper attacked her on Prospect Park West at First Street.
“The force… was so great that I lost my balance and dropped the dog’s leash. It felt violent in a way that makes me fear that his crimes could certainly escalate.”
The madman’s further attacks were on:
- July 27, around 10:15 p.m., on Berkeley Place between 6th and 7th Avenues. The attacker ripped up the victim’s skirt and grabbed her butt, police said. The victim wrote on social media that her attacker was behind her, “and I let him pass because I was on my phone. About 2 minutes later, I felt him coming up behind me and pulling up my dress.”
- August 9, 11:45 p.m., corner of Eighth Street. The groper grabbed the woman with both hands, police said. Good Samaritan Meagan Miller-McKeever rushed to help the screaming victim. “I asked if she was OK, and she said, ‘A guy pushed me down and just ran away,'” she recalled. “The guy had come up behind her, grabbed her so hard that she fell to the ground, and she screamed, and when she screamed, he ran away.” Miller-McKeever said the incident happened on “one of the safest blocks in Park Slope.”
- August 13, 10:15 p.m. on Fifth Street between Eighth Avenue and Prospect Park West. The groper grabbed the victim “violently,” police said.
“I have always felt safe in this neighborhood and enjoyed taking evening walks after work to get some fresh air,” said the 32-year-old victim of the August 13 harassment, who moved to Park Slope just three months ago.
“Now I don’t go out alone after 7:30 p.m. when it gets dark. It has destroyed my sense of security. It’s very sad,” she added.
All four incidents were reported to the NYPD. The victims told police the groper was between 5’8″ and 5’10” tall, wore all black, had straight black hair, and a medium to light complexion.
Police declined to comment on whether any possible suspects have been identified and questioned. The NYPD would not confirm residents’ suspicions that the Park Slope Prowler is also responsible for seven incidents reported in Prospect Park around Christmas.
In these cases, a similarly described perpetrator either followed the women home while they were masturbating or was caught peeping through the apartment windows.
“I think it’s clear that it’s the same person,” said one of the victims. “If it’s the same voyeur as months ago, then the situation has already escalated.”
Shahana Hanif, a left-leaning city council member and vocal critic of the NYPD, was among the politicians who pushed the controversial “How Many Stops Act,” which overwhelms cops with paperwork. She called on the department to “increase patrols in the area, especially during the evening hours when these incidents occur most frequently.”
“He will continue to do this,” warned one victim. “I am on high alert and do not go out at night. You would think you would be cautious, but this person has a strategy. It seemed as if he could not help himself.”
Miller-McKeever said she now texts her roommate when she comes home late so she knows when to expect her. She has also warned her friends to be more alert and to take walks nearby without headphones.
“As a woman, I’m always a little more alert,” she said, “and unfortunately I have to be even more so now.”
