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Police investigating reported attack, rape
YOUNGSTOWN
Police are investigating the reported attack and rape of a 31-year-old Boardman woman on the city’s South Side.
The woman was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center for treatment and an examination after the attack.
Police have video surveillance of the assault from a closed- circuit camera at a nearby senior-citizen housing complex.
Police found the woman crying uncontrollably in the lobby of a building for senior citizens in the 1800 block of Market Street. She was talking to a building resident who had let her in a back door.
According to police, the woman was walking along Market Street just after noon Sunday when a blue Chevrolet Cavalier pulled alongside her.
Reports say a man got out of the car and forced the woman into the passenger seat of the vehicle.
The woman described the man to police as a tall, black male wearing a brown coat with fur lining, blue jeans and glasses.
The man also was said to have a gray beard.
The woman told police the man immediately punched her several times then pulled into the rear parking lot of the senior building. She said he threatened her and began to sexually assault her in the front seat of the car.
Reports say the woman struggled with the man and was eventually able to reach the car’s horn with her foot.
The distraction of the horn allowed the woman to jump from the car and run to the rear door of the senior building. The man sped out of the parking lot.
Police say video surveillance in the parking lot will offer investigators some help in finding the assailant.
The video shows the car pulling into the parking lot, a struggle inside the car, and the woman running from the vehicle before the driver speeds away.