SVU: S. Philly rape suspect may have left victim’s house, returned to assault her

Philadelphia police say the suspect in the home invasion and rape of a 35-year-old South Philly woman may know the neighborhood well, and they announced a $10,000 reward for his capture.

New surveillance video released Thursday leads cops to believe that the suspect burglarized the victim’s home, moved her car, then returned to sexually assault the victim.

“What it speaks to is the boldness,” said SVU Capt. John Darby. “It makes him that much more dangerous.”

The victim of the recent assault, 35, was awoken at 5:30 a.m. at her home on the 1800 block of S Rosewood Street by the masked suspect standing over her bed, police said. He placed his hand over her mouth, demanded cash and took $10 before sexually assaulting her, police say.

Police had previously stated that the victim’s car keys were taken after the assault, but they believe that they may have been taken during a burglary which happened before the rape.

The surveillance released Wednesdayvideo shows the suspect parking a car owned by the woman who was assaulted Monday. While police did not have an exact time span, you can see from photos released on Thursday that the sun appears to have risen.

Police say the same suspect may be behind a March 26 rape just blocks away on the 1700 block of Chadwick Street. In both cases, the suspect is described as wearing red gloves.

In the first incident, a sketch was created of the suspect, seen above.

In the second incident, the suspect was wearing a mask and no sketch was made.

Police described the suspect from the recent incident as a black male about 5’9″, with a medium build, in 20s to 30s.