More held for assaults on women in New York

NEW YORK, JUNE 16. Police have arrested six more suspects in the alleged sexual assaults on more than two dozen women in a daylight rampage by a gang of men in Central Park here that also plunged the police department into a new high-profile controversy, officials said.

A total of eight arrests now have been made in connection with Sunday's attacks on 33 women who claim they were sprayed with water, stripped of their clothes and groped by as many as 50 assailants. Two tourists from France and Britain were among the victims.

Some of the victims accused police of standing by or ignoring their pleas for help. The Mayor, Mr. Rudolph Giuliani, has pledged a thorough investigation and promised to dismiss any officers found to have done nothing to stop the assaults. Authorities also vowed to find those suspects still at large.

``We are expecting more women to come forward,'' a police spokesman said late yesterday. He also said the police planned to release new photographs today of other suspects.

The attacks alarmed many locals who felt safer in recent years with declining city crime statistics. The assaults recalled disturbing memories of the 1989 rape of an investment banker by a group of teenagers as she jogged in the park.

- Reuters

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : France doubts Bashar's capability
Next     : U.N. force deployment in Congo put off