More women, girls tell of attacks by mob of men in New York

14-year-old girl among those attacked by up to 40 men in Central Park

June 14, 2000
Web posted at: 1:23 p.m. EDT (1723 GMT)

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- At least 24 women and girls -- one of them 14 years old -- had come forward by Wednesday to tell New York City police they were doused with water, stripped of their clothing, groped or robbed by a mob of men in Central Park over the weekend.

VIDEO CNN's Maria Hinojosa shows video reportedly showing the assaults. QuickTime Play Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     MESSAGE BOARD Violence in America

Some of the victims, who included tourists from Britain and France, accused police of being slow to react when they told officers what had happened to them.

New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said any officers found to have withheld help would be punished. "We'll try to determine who they are and discipline them. This is not the way we want police officers to act," he told CNN.

Giuliani said on Wednesday morning that the city had received "a great deal of information overnight," including 10 videotapes shot by people at the scene. One such video, obtained by CNN, shows a crowd around a group of women, one of them struggling to hold onto her clothing.

The 24 women and girls, a group that includes four tourists, say the daylight assaults in Central Park occurred about a block from where New York City's annual Puerto Rican Day parade was winding down on Fifth Avenue.

Police said the attacks involved as many as 40 men who sprayed water on women, ripped off their clothes, groped them and, in some cases, robbed them. A French man and woman on their honeymoon were attacked; the man held down while his wife was sexually abused.

Anne Peyton Bryant, one of those attacked, says she will never leave her home again during a large event in New York 163K/15 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

Police said none of the victims reported being raped.

Two men were arrested. Lawyers for David Rowe, 24, and Tremayne Bain, 23, said their clients were not involved in the attacks.

"I felt that they were under a lot of pressure to arrest somebody," said David Kapner, Rowe's attorney.

The 14-year-old girl said she was leaving the park around 6 p.m. when a gang tore off her shirt and her necklace.

Giuliani said he had met with several victims and promised the attacks -- and the police response -- would be vigorously investigated. "The young lady I spoke to (on Tuesday night) was very, very clear in her identification of the police officers involved. So, I'm very hopeful we will be able to find them," the mayor said.

Stephanie, a woman who was in the midst of the mob, agreed to discuss the incident on condition that her last name be withheld.

Listen to Mayor Giuliani's take on why Central Park 'is one of the safest places in America' 359K/33 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

"Before I knew it, I was surrounded by what seemed to be 20 guys, all pouring water on me, and I was trying to push through," she told The Associated Press.

"They were coming at me from all directions, and they were grabbing my butt, groping my butt, and I was screaming and I was trying to get through, trying to get away."

Stephanie was soaked with water, but unharmed.

"I was scared. I felt like I had no control, everything happened so fast but yet it felt like slow motion," she said. "I didn't know what would end up happening; that was the scariest part of all."

Anne Peyton Bryant, a 29-year-old victim, said an officer she approached "acted like it was nothing" and two others told her to file a report at a nearby police station house. She said she filed the report but no one offered to help her look for the attackers.

Police Commissioner Howard Safir said no officers were nearby when the incidents happened, but a witness told the New York Daily News he saw police ignoring the mayhem.

"The cops knew what was going on because the girls were mad and angry and walking right past them," David Grandison was quoted as saying.

Police said the attacks occurred in the southern end of Central Park, near the intersection of Central Park South and Avenue of the Americas.

Correspondent Maria Hinojosa and The Associated Press contributed to this report, written by Jim Morris.

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Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
The Problem: Why do Men Batter Women?
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
New York City Police Department
Central Park
NYC Parks: Central Park
Central Park...the oasis of NYC

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