Woman raped, bound, left in Fairmount Park

Police are investigating the abduction and rape of a Northeast Philadelphia woman who was found Tuesday afternoon in Fairmount Park partially nude and bound with duct tape.

The victim, 28, said she had been grabbed last night by an assailant on the block where she lives in the city's Lawncrest neighborhood. The assailant took her to an unknown house where he raped her, the victim told police.

On Tuesday, the assailant drove her to the Belmont Plateau and at 4 p.m. dropped her off near the intersection of Belmont Mansion and Chamounix Drives, said police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore. A passerby discovered her at 5:10 p.m. and called for help.

The attack does not appear to be related to several rapes committed in the park between 2003 and 2007, Vanore said. The Fairmount Park rapist, who attacked four women, has not been caught.

Last year, a jogger was raped Aug. 11 near Bells Mill Road and Forbidden Drive. On a runner was attacked Aug. 23 on the 3800 block of Edgely Drive, near the East Park Reservoir.

On Sept. 4, 2009, a man was arrested after a woman said he picked her up in Kensington and drove her to the 3600 block of Greenland Drive in the park. That site is a mile from where Tuesday's victim was discovered. The man contended they had consensual sex. The woman said she had been raped. Police filed weapons counts against the man after a gun was found in his vehicle.