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Man Drugged And Sexually Assaulted After Leaving Hell's Kitchen Bar
By
Emma Whitford
Published Jun 29, 2016
Modified Jun 29, 2016
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By
Emma Whitford
Published Jun 29, 2016
Modified Jun 29, 2016
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A 25-year-old man says that he was drugged and sexually assaulted after stepping out of Boxers Sports Bar, a gay sports bar in Hell's Kitchen, early Sunday morning.
The victim, whose name has not been released, left Boxers on the corner of 9th Avenue and West 50th Street around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday and turned towards Times Square, according to a complaint filed with the NYPD. A spokesman for the department said Wednesday that the suspect allegedly approached the victim from behind at 50th Street, and said "Hey, come here." The complaint indicates that he then knocked the victim unconscious with poppers, slang for amyl nitrite. The drug, often sold in small vials, is an inhalant. Overdoses are uncommon.
The victim regained partial consciousness inside a parked car in an unknown location and realized that a man was sexually assaulting him, according to the police. He woke up fully some time later, alone at a bus stop on 110th Street (the NYPD could not confirm an intersection).
The victim then checked himself in to Wyckoff Medical Center in Bushwick. There are no injuries listed on the incident report.
Poppers were developed in the 1960s as a heart medicine, but they've been popular as a quick-hit high on the rave scene since the 1970s. They're also sold over the counter at many gay novelty shops, according to the gay news magazine The Advocate.
As of this morning, the NYPD has no description of the suspect. The spokesman said that the Special Victims Unit is investigating, and next steps include canvasing the neighborhood for surveillance footage.
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Boxers Sports Bar
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Emma Whitford
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