Attempted Rape in Midtown; Man Indicted for Brutal Sex Assault
Two sexual assaults, one indictment so far.
| 15 Sep 2025 | 06:51
Two surveillance shots of a man wanted for attempted rape on Labor Day near Broadway and West 36th Street. The shirt on the left may have been turned inside out. (
)
Labor Day brought news of a sexual assault, this one in the early evening hours within the confines of Midtown South, which covers the Chelsea/Hell’s Kitchen neighborhoods. Two days later, the alleged attacker in an earlier rape was indicted by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.
Details on the Labor Day attempted rape, where the suspect is still at large, are as follows: On Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, at approximately 6pm inside a commercial establishment—reportedly a nail salon—located in the vicinity of West 36th Street and Broadway, an unidentified male sexually assaulted a 34-year-old female. Although the shop was closed for Labor Day, the door was open and the suspect walked in.
After grabbing the woman, throwing her to the ground, biting her, and attempting to pull off her pants and underwear, the suspect fled the location in an unknown direction. The victim was removed by EMS to an area hospital in stable condition.
The suspect is described as slim, dark-skinned man with a shaved head, in his late 20s or 30s. He was neatly dressed in tan shorts, a T-shirt and black Nike basketball shoes. Upon entering the salon, he may have been wearing a hat that was left at the scene.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.
Bragg Indicts Man for Vicious Eighth Avenue Sidewalk Sex Assault
Anthony Smith, a 37-year-old recidivist and, most recently, the alleged Hell’s Kitchen rapist, was indicted by DA Bragg on Sept. 3 for allegedly sexually assaulting her on a Midtown sidewalk on Aug. 10.
Smith is charged with two counts each of attempted rape, and sexual abuse, as well as strangulation as a sexually motivated felony, among other charges. “As alleged, Anthony Smith brutally choked a woman until she lost consciousness before sexually assaulting her,” said DA Bragg. “My Special Victims Division takes these crimes extremely seriously and will doggedly pursue justice in this case while centering the survivor’s needs.”
As alleged in court documents and statements made on the record in court, in the early morning of Aug. 10, 2025, Smith walked around Midtown and Hell’s Kitchen for approximately an hour, following and staring at women and putting his hand down his pants. At approximately 3:30am, on West 47th Street near 8th Avenue, Smith approached a woman from behind as she walked to the subway station. After allegedly being strangled and sexually assaulted, the victim started to revive, whereupon the suspect fled.
He was arrested in a Lower East Side apartment on Aug. 13, by members of the NYPD’s Warrants Squad. Smith, who pled not guilty, is being held on Rikers Island without bail. His next scheduled court date is Nov. 12.