Police Search for Intruder Who Snuck into Room of Girl, 8

Community on edge after attempted sexual assault of child.

Port Chester police are looking for fingerprints in the bedroom of an 8-year-old girl who woke in the middle of the night to find an intruder in her room.

The unknown man has certainly left fear in his wake.

"I'll sleep with the window closed, because I'm afraid said 11-yr-old Cecilia Martinez, who sat on her front porch with her mother in Port Chester Thursday.

According to Lt. James Ladeairous, the girl claimed she awoke with a start about 2 a.m. Monday. She told police she heard what sounded like a cigarette lighter and smelled smoke.

A man wearing a green shirt was standing In her room, grabbed her around the throat and tried to take off her pants.

"She screamed and the man fled," said Ladeairous. The girl's mother ran in, but not soon enough to see the assailant who ran down the stairs and out the front door.

Police have not identified the girl or her address on Piningo St., but they said it appears the intruder entered the 3rd floor bedroom through an open widow using the fire escape.

"It is very upsetting," said Anna Palma, who works in the laundromat on the street.

The neighborhood is packed with apartment buildings and  multi-level houses turned into apartments. Fire escapes abound, as do open windows in the summer heat.

"You can't be too careful," said Terry Corvo, who works at an autobody shop on the street.

It's unclear where police go from here, because right now the only person to have come face-to-face with the intruder is the little girl.
 

Contact Us