The incident happened at about 9:50 a.m. Thursday at a residential building in the vicinity of Seaman Avenue and Academy Street in Inwood.
[Ads /]
Police say the suspect followed a 51-year-old woman into the vestibule and pushed her into the building's hallway.
The attacker, who was behind the victim, told her to do as he said, according to investigators.
When he tried to pull her pants down, police say the victim turned and threw her cup of coffee into his face and yelled out for help.
The suspect ran out of the building and fled northbound on Seaman Avenue.
[Ads /]
He is described as a male, Hispanic, 30 to 40 years old, 5'10" to 6'0", 250lbs, with eyeglasses, a beard, and mustache; last seen wearing a black knit cap, a black and gray hooded jacket, a black sweater, black sweatpants, and blue and white sneakers.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.
----------
* More Manhattan news
* Send us a news tip
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
* Follow us on YouTube