ITHACA, N.Y. — Police are investigating two two crimes that happened in downtown Ithaca Thursday night, possibly involving the same suspect.
According to police, officers were called around 7:20 p.m. to an area near Cascadilla and North Geneva streets for a reported assault. A “distraught” woman they met there said she was walking when “a male subject walked up behind her and forcibly grabbed intimate parts of her body. The female yelled for help and was assisted by other pedestrians in the area.”
Police said the man ran away and was last seen headed sown South Albany Street, about a block away.
A second crime was reported around 7:38 p.m.on the 400 block of North Tioga Street. Police said a woman they met there said a man exposed his genitals to her while she was walking down the street and then fled southbound on Tioga street.
In both incidents, the man is described as a white male, approximately 5’8″ tall, slim build, wearing dark pants, a black or dark-colored hooded sweatshirt, and a dark-colored baseball cap.
While the descriptions are similar, police said the cases are being investigated separately for now.
The report comes the same day a man exposed himself to a female Cornell University student while she was in a shower at Founders Hall, located near Gothics Way.
In that incident, the man was described as a white male, between 30-35 years old, about 5’8″ tall, with an oval-shaped face and faint blonde stubble. The student reported that the suspect fled wearing a gray sweatshirt with black sleeves, a blue flat-brimmed hat, blue pants and possibly white high-top sneakers.
Anyone with information about the crimes should contact police using any of the following means:
Police Dispatch: 607-272-3245
Police Administration: 607-272-9973
Police Tipline: 607-330-0000
Email: policeinfo@cityofithaca.org
Anonymous Email Tip Address: www.cityofithaca.org/ipdtips
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