INDIANAPOLIS — A 37-year-old man was arrested and charged after he assaulted seven women in the downtown Indianapolis area, police say.
The assaults all happened on the evening of June 17 and the afternoon of June 18.
The man is accused of approaching two women shortly after 5 p.m. on June 17 near an apartment building in the 900 block of Fayette Street. The man is accused of grabbing one of the women and physically assaulting her. He fled the scene after the women indicated that they were calling the police, prosecutors say.
About an hour and a half later, the man is accused of approaching a woman and asking for a hug in a parking lot near the intersection of New York and Alabama Street. When she refused and ran to her car, police say the man closed her car door, presented a knife and began to assault her until he was chased away by bystanders.
The next day, police were called on a report of an assault near the Veteran’s Memorial Plaza. Two women reported being approached by a man matching the suspect’s description when he solicited physical contact from them. When they declined, the man presented a knife and began to physically assault them, according to court documents. A nearby sleeping woman was also allegedly assaulted by the suspect during the attack.
While officers were at the Veteran’s Memorial Plaza scene, others were dispatched to the area of Walnut and Illinois streets, on a report of a woman stabbed in the neck. Police say the victim was walking on the Cultural Trail when she was approached by the suspect. The suspect is accused of threatening to have sex with the victim before physically assaulting her, police say. During the assault, the woman was stabbed multiple times.
Some bystanders who saw the assault helped the woman, while others chased the man and detained him until officers arrived on the scene.
The suspect has been charged with 22 counts including attempted murder (Level 1 Felony), attempted rape (Level 1 Felony), criminal confinement (Level 3, 4 and 6 Felonies), attempted kidnapping (Level 3 Felonies) and attempted sexual battery (Level 4 Felonies).
