Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Upper East Side Women Worry About Serial Groper: "I'm Not Going Out At Night"
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 19, 2011
Modified Jul 19, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 19, 2011
Modified Jul 19, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The police hunt for man who has been suspected of attacking at least seven women on the Upper East Side has residents on edge. One woman told WCBS 2, "I'm not going out at night, simple as that. Or I go out with friends."
A reader told us about her creepy encounter with the man, saying she had gotten off the 6 train at 77th Street at 3 a.m. on Sunday morning when a man—matching the the description of the groper (a Latino male between the ages of 25 and 30, about 4-foot-11 and 120 pounds with black hair)—asked her for directions. She walked home about three blocks to her non-doorman building on 78th Street: "I let myself in and then as I am climbing I start hear footsteps softly ascending behind me as I am going up. That was my first clue. I monitor the steps to see if they stop and enter an apartment. They don't -- and when I reach the sixth floor and turn around -- there he is on the landing below me. I loudly say 'WHOA, WHOA -- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?' and stare him down. He pauses, wide-eyed, unsure, and then just turns around and runs away."
The suspect's MO apparently is to follow women to their buildings and then touches them after they open their buildings' doors. A male resident of the neighborhood told WCBS 2, "I live in this neighborhood, and this is the seventh time I’ve heard about this groper. He’s going to get progressively worse…I’d like to catch him myself."
Tagged
attack
groper
serial groper
upper east side
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Queens man found dead, police say, and injured woman is his mother, neighbors say
Police are investigating a related incident in which a 62-year-old woman was found injured beneath the Van Wyck Expressway.
By
Charles Lane
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 7:39 p.m. ET
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
News
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
By
Carol Chen
National Grid customers in NYC will see higher gas bills this winter
By
Rosemary Misdary
Bruce Blakeman joins Gov. Hochul in support for expanding NY rape law
By
Jon Campbell
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .