Police are looking for a man who allegedly carried out a lewd act inside a South Bronx laundromat, targeting a woman in the middle of her routine errand late last month.
Investigators say the incident happened around 5 p.m. on May 25 at a business at 447 Willis Avenue. According to police, the man approached a 43-year-old woman and performed a lewd act over her clothing before running away on foot. Authorities have not announced any arrest in the case.
What police say
As reported by News 12 New York, detectives confirmed the time and location of the incident and shared the basic details of what happened. The outlet notes that the victim is 43 years old and that the suspect took off on foot after the encounter. Police said they have circulated information on the case through Crime Stoppers in an effort to identify the suspect and are urging anyone with information to contact investigators.
Neighborhood context
The laundromat alert arrives amid a series of public-lewdness and unwanted-touching reports in the Bronx and across the city, a pattern highlighted in local coverage and NYPD Crime Stoppers bulletins. a separate Wakefield subway case was recently covered, where police likewise released images while asking the public for help. Detectives do not routinely link every case, but they consistently point out that quick tips and preserved video can be critical in identifying suspects.
How to report tips
Anyone with information about the laundromat incident can contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), submit a tip online, or send a message to @NYPDTips on social media, according to the NYPD Crime Stoppers page. The program allows people to provide information anonymously and may offer rewards if tips lead to an arrest, as stated on the Crime Stoppers site. Investigators are asking anyone who has video or photos related to the incident to save the original files and share them directly with detectives instead of posting them publicly.
