Police are on the hunt for a man who they say raped a woman and slashed her face with a knife in Rittenhouse Square.

Police say a 26-year-old woman was walking on the 1700 block of Spruce Street around 2 a.m. last Saturday. As she was walking, she was approached by a man who asked her for a cigarette, according to investigators. When the woman declined, police say the man pulled out a knife and dragged her into a side street where he raped her before fleeing the scene. Police also say he slashed the woman’s face with the knife during the attack.

The incident marks one of several rape investigations for the Philadelphia Police. On Easter Sunday, police say a La Salle University student was raped while walking on the 4800 block of 10th Street. On March 19, a young girl told police she was dragged into an alley and raped while she was on her way to school in the Germantown section of the city. Finally, a patient at Temple University Hospital told police he was raped by a female nurse back on February 27.

“In every neighborhood there’s a problem,” said a local woman who did not want to be identified. “Women get raped in every neighborhood. I think that’s the biggest issue.”

The suspect in last Saturday’s incident is described as a medium-built man with blonde hair and blue eyes, standing at 5-foot-10. Police say he was last seen wearing a blue shirt and black slacks.

If you have any information on this incident, please call Philadelphia Police.





