Caution; Watch for white male - 20s or mid-30s with a slim build and
short. He was further described as having short brown hair, possibly
shaved, and a short goatee. Possibly driving a dark colored or dark
green Jeep like vehicle.

Lakewood Woman Abducted, Sexually Assaulted

POSTED: 12:43 pm EDT May 8, 2006
UPDATED: 8:35 am EDT May 9, 2006

Email This Story | Print This Story

LAKEWOOD, N.J. -- A young woman was abducted, sexually assaulted and
then released by her captor after leaving a health club in this
heavily Orthodox Jewish community, authorities said Monday as they
investigated whether the assault was linked to similar crimes in New
York.

Police described the attacker as being a white male in either his mid-
20s or mid-30s with a slim build and short. He was further described
as having short brown hair, possibly shaved, and a short goatee.

The woman was abducted shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday from the health
club parking lot and returned to the same location around 5 a.m.
Monday, authorities said. The woman, described as about 20 years old,
was taken to a hospital after police were contacted.

Authorities said the woman was injured while trying to fight off her
abductor, but the nature of her injuries was not immediately known.
She was still being interviewed by police Monday afternoon.


"Our town had a terrible crime visited on us last night," said Mayor
Meir Lichtenstein. "All of us in Lakewood are gathering around the
victim and the family."

Police Capt. Robert Lawson said authorities were working with New
York City police to determine whether this case was related to
several recent attempted abductions of younger girls in Borough Park,
a largely Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn. Authorities said
they could not say whether this incident was a bias crime, but are
investigating that possibility. Police were seeking a male suspect.

Lakewood, a community of about 65,000 people near the New Jersey
shore, is composed of nearly 50 percent Orthodox Jews, some of whom
study at the Beth Medrash Govoha rabbinical college.

The mayor said he had asked police to step up patrols in the area.

The crime has many in the Jewish community worried.

"We're like a family. In this case, the girl would be like a sister,
and everybody is worried that this could happen to them," said Yaakov
Klugman, a student at the rabbinical college.
© 2006 by WNBC.com The Associated Press contributed to this report.
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed.