As a little kid your parents always tell you to watch out for strangers, only trust those you know, and be careful at all times. Most kids and teenagers just respond with an “okay mom. Whatever you say,” but when dangers become a reality, it is hard to ignore.

Newburyport has always been a popular destination for all Pentucket Sachems to go out with friends, grab ice cream and dinner, and walk on the boardwalk. Unfortunately, the innocence surrounding the small community has recently been disrupted with reports of various sexual assault crimes. Police call the suspect a dangerous sexual predator who has, now five times, violated women casually walking in the Newburyport area.

The latest incident concerning the assault happened around 9:30 p.m. on Monday November 3, when a teenage girl was walking down High Street near the town’s high school. Luckily, her boyfriend heard her scream and was able to chase the man away.

Three other attempts similar to this have been made since June of this year, involving women of all different ages:

• On June 22, 2014, a 20-year-old woman was attacked and groped on Merrimac Street while walking home at about 10:30 p.m.
• September 9, 2014 proved to be the same situation, only this time, the target was a 23-year-old woman walking home at 8:30 p.m.
• On September 25, 2014, two women were attacked and groped near the MBTA entrance on Parker Street while they were walking from Downtown Newburyport to the train station. The attack occurred at about 10:50 p.m.

In all of these past assaults, the women have been attacked from behind. The most recent attack upped-the-ante, as the girl was more shamelessly attacked according to the police. Because of this, Newburyport city Marshall Tom Howard thinks “there’s a dangerous person out there” who he believes, “is the same person.”

The suspect is ultimately described as a man in his 20s, who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt; a description matching those of at least two of the other cases.
With all these shockingly sketchy events occurring so close to home, now is the time Pentucket sachems need to take their parents’ childhood advice seriously.

http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Police-Investigate-5th-Sexual-Assault-in-5-Months-281785451.html