Police Search for Rapist Dressed as Firefighter

1010 WINS NEW YORK ^ | Nov 2, 2005 1:37 pm US/Eastern

[Calpernia]

It had the makings of a Halloween prank: a small fire set in a stairwell, a man dressed up as a firefighter and a knock at the front door.

But police say the fake fireman was an armed predator who used the ploy to get a 34-year-old woman to let him into her Manhattan apartment, where he bound and molested her for more than 12 hours.

Police were searching on Wednesday for the man amid a simultaneous investigation by fire officials.

``There was a clear indication of arson,'' said Fire Department spokesman Frank Gribbon.

Authorities believe that at about 6 p.m. on Halloween the man _ wearing a firefighter's helmet, coat and mask _ set two small fires in stairwells inside the victim's apartment building on West 24th Street in Chelsea. With smoke filling her hallway, he pounded on her door and announced he was from the ``FDNY,'' police said.

The woman told detectives that when she opened her door, she saw the smoke and a man dressed in fire gear who told her he needed to check her home for signs of a fire. After she let him in, he pulled a handgun on her, then covered her face with a rag soaked in some type of chemical.

As she faded in and out of consciousness, the man put on a ski mask, tied her up and gagged her with duct tape before sexually assaulting her, she said. She also recalled him videotaping the attack.

Meanwhile, real firefighters responded to emergency calls from the woman's neighbors about the fires, which were quickly extinguished. Some residents had smelled smoke and tried to evacuate the building; one said he knocked on the victim's door, but there was no answer.

The man left the apartment at about 7 a.m. Tuesday, leaving the victim naked and bound to her bed. She managed to free herself and call police.

[Calpernia]

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[Calpernia]

http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_307094103.html

(1010 WINS) (NEW YORK) The New York Police Department has released this sketch of a man wanted in the Halloween night rape of a 34-year-old woman in Chelsea. Police say the man was masquerading as a firefighter wearing a hat and coat of the types seen in the sketch.

Reports say the phony firefighter set several small fires in the woman's apartment building and used that as an excuse to gain access to her apartment. Once inside he reportedly assaulted her for 13 hours, videotaping the ordeal and stealing a pair of the victim's high heels as a trophy.

Authorities believe that at about 6 p.m. on Halloween the man wearing a firefighter's helmet, coat and mask set two small fires in stairwells inside the victim's apartment building on West 24th Street in Chelsea. With smoke filling her hallway, he pounded on her door and announced he was from the ``FDNY,'' police said.

The woman told detectives that when she opened her door, she saw the smoke and a man dressed in fire gear who told her he needed to check her home for signs of a fire. After she let him in, he pulled a handgun on her, then covered her face with a rag soaked in some type of chemical.

As she faded in and out of consciousness, the man put on a ski mask, tied her up and gagged her with duct tape before sexually assaulting her, she said. She also recalled him videotaping the attack.

Meanwhile, real firefighters responded to emergency calls from the woman's neighbors about the fires, which were quickly extinguished. Some residents had smelled smoke and tried to evacuate the building; one said he knocked on the victim's door, but there was no answer.

The man left the apartment at about 7 a.m. Tuesday, leaving the victim naked and bound to her bed. She managed to free herself and call police.


Police are asking anyone with information to call 1-800-577-TIPS.

[Calpernia]