An 18-year-old woman was groped on a Brooklyn street Monday night, less than a day after another young woman became the 12th victim in a rash of disturbing sex attacks.
The teen had just left a subway station at 36th St. and Fifth Ave. in Sunset Park a little before 8 p.m., when a pervert sneaked up behind her, grabbed her buttocks and ran away, police sources said.
Cops did not officially link the attack to the pattern of Brooklyn assaults stretching back to last March, but police sources said they are investigating the incident as No. 13.
The assault came on the heels of an attack in Windsor Terrace late Sunday night, when a bold fiend sneaked up on a woman walking to her mother's house on a dark street.
The creep, striking for the first time in the close-knit enclave, was not deterred by an amped-up police presence.
"She's happy she didn't get raped," the victim's sister said. "She has bruising. You can see where he grabbed her."
Cops believe more than one man may be responsible for the attacks in a cluster of neighborhoods from Park Slope to Bay Ridge because the assailant's description has varied.
The 11:30 p.m. attack on Sunday happened at Vanderbilt St. , near the Prospect Expressway.
The woman, wearing headphones, was walking from her apartment to her mother's home when she felt like she was being followed, police sources said.
She turned and saw a man, who put his hand on a car, as though he was about to hop in it. She continued walking, and the man suddenly grabbed her breasts from behind and tried to drag her down.
"She said she pulled forward and then screamed," the sister said. Their mother heard the commotion, ran to the window and saw the attacker fleeing.
He was described as a Latino, about 5-feet-4, wearing a dark tank top and jeans.
News of the new attacks unnerved local residents and anti-crime activists.
"I'm disgusted. What do we have to do to get this monster off the street?" said Jay Ruiz, who started a bike-escort program in response to the attacks.
"The Police Department has been picking up their game; there are cops all over the place. That's why I can't believe it happened again."
Borough President Marty Markowitz said he thinks the NYPD is doing all it can.
"These are sickos that walk the streets," he said. "They are going to be apprehended. I just hope it's very soon."
'All-out effort'
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said "an all-out effort" is underway to find the culprit, but he noted police have few forensic clues because there has been only one rape.
"As far as I can see, they are doing a very impressive and aggressive investigation," Kelly said.
The 12th victim spent hours talking with detectives yesterday and also met with a sketch artist to help create a new composite.
Police sources said a fingerprint was lifted from the car the suspect touched during the attack.
"Whoever this dude is, [he] stole my sister's peace of mind," her sister railed.
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