Suspect sought after assault behind N. Broad deli

Police are seeking a man who beat a 47-year-old woman unconscious and sexually assaulted her Wednesday night in the 5600 block of North Broad Street, Lt. Tom McDevitt said at a news conference yesterday.

The crime happened about 10 p.m. behind a delicatessen.

The suspect, said to frequent the neighborhood, including a visit to the deli approximately 20 minutes before the crime occurred, is a black man in his 20s, approximately 6 feet tall and heavyset. Surveillance cameras from the deli show he was wearing jeans, Timberland boots, and a black AERO hoodie, which was found at the crime scene.

McDevitt said a delicatessen employee told police he witnessed the attack when he took out the trash before closing for the night. The attacker fled when he saw the employee, McDevitt said.

The woman was in critical condition in the intensive-care unit at Albert Einstein Medical Center and could not communicate with police, McDevitt said. Police ask anyone with information to call 215-685-3252. - Elisa Lala