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Police investigating towpath sexual assault

Towpath bridge
Photo Credit: Jon Ort / The Daily Princetonian

Content Warning: This piece contains material related to sexual assault and harassment. If you would like to speak to a confidential University-based resource, please call the Sexual Harassment/Assault Advising, Resources, and Education office (SHARE) at (609) 258-3310.

Plainsboro police are currently investigating an aggravated sexual assault that took place on Tuesday, Sept. 28 on the border of Plainsboro Township and South Brunswick, along the Delaware and Raritan Canal towpath.

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A police investigation is underway, according to a Sept. 29 report from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.

In a TigerAlert message at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, students were informed of the assault and urged to contact relevant authorities if they have any information regarding the incident. The reported assault took place along the towpath, commonly used by Princeton University community members.

According to the TigerAlert and county report, an adult woman was “approached by an unknown male armed with a knife,” who assaulted her in the nearby area between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. 

The suspect was described as being “approximately 5’5”–5’6” tall, wearing dark-colored clothing and a dark-colored baseball cap.” The county prosecutor’s office also stated the suspect is “believed to be a Hispanic male.”

The towpath has a history of “lewdness” incidents, with several unrelated reports of naked and partially-naked men in 2018 and 2019. There were also two unrelated lewdness alerts reported on campus last semester.

The current sexual assault investigation, which is “active and continuing,” involves several town- and county-level offices.

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“Anyone with information or surveillance footage of the area is asked to contact Detective Sue Kowalski of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3287, Detective Patrick Miller of the Plainsboro Police Department at (609) 799-2333, or Detective Dominick Delucia of the South Brunswick Police Department at (732) 329-4646,” the Middlesex County release added.

Evelyn Doskoch is a Head News Editor who has reported on University affairs, COVID-19 policy, student life, sexual harassment allegations, town affairs, and eating clubs. She can be reached at edoskoch@princeton.edu or on Twitter at @EvelynDoskoch.

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