$2,500 reward offered for arrest of suspect wanted in Franklin trail sex attack
FRANKLIN (Somerset) - Crime Stoppers of Somerset County Inc. is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest of the man responsible for the sexual assault of a runner on a trail earlier this week near Blackwells Mill Road and Canal Road.
The reward was announced Friday by Somerset County Acting Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart and Franklin Township Public Safety Director Quovella M. Maeweather.
A sketch of the alleged suspect by a forensic artist assigned to the New Jersey State Police Forensic Imaging Unit was released earlier this week. The public is asked not to confront the suspect and instead notify authorities if he is located.
A police investigation also is trying to determine if the suspect involved in this recent incident is the same person involved in previously attacks in Somerset and Middlesex counties.
Around 6:03 p.m. Monday, May 16 Franklin Township Police responded to a 911 call about a sexual assault on a park trail along Six Mile Run near Blackwells Mills Road and Canal Road. When police arrived a woman said she was assaulted by a man while running on the trail.
The woman reported the man was on a bicycle and got off the bicycle and tackled her to the ground while she was running on a trail. She fought with the man as he attempted to sexually assault her. She was able to escape the assault and then immediately notified authorities by calling 911.
She describer her attacker as a man about 5’6” to 5’7” in his mid 30s with a heavy build, wearing black pants or shorts, a green hoodie and a blue gator face covering. The man fled the area on a bicycle.
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The woman was brought transported to a local hospital where she was treated and released.
Police from Franklin Township, Hillsborough, South Brunswick and Montgomery established a perimeter in an attempt to locate the suspect. Detectives from Franklin Township, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, Sex Crimes Unit, Crime Scene Investigations Unit and New Jersey State Park Police responded to conduct the investigation.
Information about the suspect can be provided to the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.
In addition, anyone with information related to the sexual assault is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutors Office Sex Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100 or the Franklin Township Police Department at 732-873-5533 or via the STOPit app.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Franklin NJ trail sex assault reward offered in suspect arrest
