Police Investigating Sexual Assault Report of Queens Toddler

Investigators are looking into whether surveillance cameras captured any suspicious activity in the area overnight

The NYPD is investigating a report of a Queens toddler being sexually assaulted in her home.

A man reported that a stranger sneaked into an apartment on 88th Avenue and climbed into a bed where his toddler daughter was sleeping, police said. 

The man told authorities he heard a tapping noise coming from the girl's room, then discovered a man, asleep, smelling of alcohol in bed next to her. 

After walking the intruder out of the home, the father heard his wife screaming that the girl's pajamas and underwear had been removed.

But when he raced back out to find the man again, he was gone, police said. 

"That's disgusting. Absolutely disgusting," said neighbor Chef Navarro. "I don't know how somebody could do something like that." 

The child's mother told NBC 4 New York the girl was OK and "doing fine" after the ordeal.

The mother, who is not being named in order to protect the toddler's identity, said she and her husband were questioned at the precinct for 16 hours. Initial interviews were complicated because she has an order of protection against her estranged husband, and does not live in the apartment with her daughter.

"She's not supposed to be there," said landlord Carole Augustine. 

Investigators are telling residents in the area to lock their doors and windows, even though other tenants in the building couldn't understand how anyone got inside when there was no sign of a break-in. 

They were seen carting away bags of evidence, including a teddy bear, pajamas and bedding to check for DNA.

Police also released a sketch of the intruder, below. He is described as about 25 to 35 years old, about 5 feet 7 inches. He was wearing a gray shirt and black jeans.

"It's so stressful because we have kids, too," said neighbor Radha Persa. "Something like that happens, it's very bad."  

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