Woman fears attempted rapist returned to NJ park to show off his police sketch

MARLBORO — A mugger who attempted to rape a woman at a park on Thursday may have returned to the park this weekend.

Police spokesman Stephen Levy said a man who looked similar to the attacker depicted in a police sketch approached another woman on Tuesday afternoon in Big Brook Park.

The man showed the sketch to the woman, warned her to be careful and left.

Officers searched the area but no one matching his description was found, Levy said.

Detailed description

Investigators with the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office also revised their description of last week's attacker. They described him as a tanned, white man in his 30s with brown eyes, medium-length brown hair, a goatee, about 6 feet and 240 pounds, wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants with a brand logo — possibly with the letter H.

He also had a raised scar on his left ear and a distinctive neck tattoo.

Monmouth County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to the identification, arrest and prosecution of a suspect.

Recent reported rapes

Monmouth County investigators continue to investigate possible connections to rapes in the areas of Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park on the Plainsboro/South Brunswick border and Duke Island Park in Bridgewater. The attackers in those cases, however, were described differently.

"The investigation remains ongoing, with MCPO personnel working with authorities in neighboring jurisdictions to determine whether this incident is in any way connected with other recent similar incidents. Unfortunately, we cannot get into further detail at this time," Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Chris Swendeman said.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ