BOSTON, Aug. 8, 2014—State Police are investigating a sexual assault on the Esplanade shortly before 12:30 this morning.

Uniformed troopers, detectives from Troop H, and the Suffolk County State Police Detective Unit responded to the area of the Harvard Bridge spanning the Charles River at Massachusetts Avenue and spoke with a 22-year-old woman who reported that a man on a bicycle had assaulted her after a brief verbal encounter. The woman ran and sought help from another cyclist who called 911. A search of the area by numerous State Police assets did not turn up the suspect.

The woman described the assailant as a Latino male in his mid-20s to early 30s, standing about 5’6” tall with a moustache and short, dark hair. Based on this description, investigators do not currently believe this suspect to be responsible for a series of unsolved sexual assaults in the same area during the summers of 2007 and 2009. The assailant’s description is generally similar to that of a man who pushed a woman to the ground in the area of the lagoon and then fled on foot at about 2:50 a.m. on May 24. Whether a connection exists between these two incidents remains under investigation.

Authorities recommended that joggers, cyclists, pedestrians, and others remain alert and aware of their surroundings if they visit the Esplanade at night and travel in groups if possible. More specifically, they recommended avoiding one-on-one contact with strangers, seeking help if a stranger tries to isolate them, and never getting into a car with a person they don’t know.

While the victims of any crime, including sexual assault, are urged to call 911 in an emergency, survivors of sexual violence in Suffolk County may also call the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center’s 24-hour hotline at 800-841-8371.  The BARCC provides legal assistance, counseling, and other services to the victims of rape and sexual assault.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.