by KYW's Mark Abrams
Philadelphia police have released a composite sketch of a suspect they believe is connected to three separate assaults and robberies of Temple University students at the edge of the campus.
Police say the suspect is between the ages of 16 and 21. He's an African-American male about 5' 8" tall, and in the most recent assault on a 19-year-old woman on February 12th, he was wearing a dark ski cap and and an oversized, black puffy vest.
Police say two other attacks occurred on February 3rd and February 7th, and both of those victims were 21 years old.
Mariah, a Temple University freshman from Northeast Philadelphia, says the attacks are the talk of campus. But she says she takes precautions to make sure she doesn't become a victim:
"You just try not to walk by yourself late at night. I try to go into the Tech Center and get a couple girlfriends who are still trying to print something out, or get some papers done, to go with me. But other than that, it's just walk like you know where you're going."
If you recognize the suspect, call the police department's Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3251.
“In all these cases, items are taken from the complainants. In all these cases there’s varying degrees of indecent contact with the complainant,” said Philadelphia police Captain John Darby.
The most recent attack happened a week ago in the 2000 block of Carlisle Street -- a small side street that runs parallel to Broad Street. That's where a female student was robbed of her cell phone and assaulted.
The first assault occurred on February 3rd in the 1600 block of Fontain Street, where the suspect approached a 21-year-old female asking to use her cell phone before forcing her to the ground and exposing himself.
Another 21-year-old female victim told police the suspect held a knife to her throat before groping her and fleeing with her purse and cell phone on February 7th, in the 1700 block of Diamond Street.
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