Nassau County police are investigating whether assaults on two women last month are related, and if they are connected to a rape in Valley Stream State Park Sunday morning, police said.
A police spokesman confirmed that investigators are “looking into the possibility” after two women reported separate attacks in Valley Stream and Lynbrook just minutes apart.
In the first incident, police said a 30-year-old female was walking south on Mill Road in Valley Stream on Aug. 12 at 9:05 p.m. near the Long Island Rail Road train station when a black male with “a thin build riding a bicycle” grabbed her buttocks from behind.
The woman tried to get away but the suspect threw her to the ground and punched her, police said. Her attacker then attempted to rip off her shirt and pin her to the ground but she was able to fight him off.
He then fled on a bicycle.
Twenty minutes later, police said a man fitting the same description and also riding a bike walked up to a woman standing outsider her house, forced open the door and grabbed her inappropriately over her jeans. Once inside, he attempted to remove her pants before choking her, police said.
The suspect fled on his bike after a neighbor heard the woman’s screams and dialed 911, police said.
He was last spotted pedaling down Lois Place toward Merrick Road, police said.
The attacks occured three weeks prior to a rape in the Valley Stream State Park over Labor Day weekend. The rapist was described as a black man between 29 and 35 years old about 5-feet, 9-inches tall with a thin build and short hair.
Detectives are asking anyone with information regarding these crimes to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.
