Sketch of suspect released

By ROBERT FARLEY

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 20, 2001

PALM HARBOR -- The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office on Friday released a composite sketch of the man sought in the sexual assault of a woman walking her dog on a sidewalk near her apartment in ParkCrest at Innisbrook Monday night.

Sheriff's deputies tried to track the man Monday night with dogs and a helicopter, and they later canvassed the neighborhood trying to find other neighbors who may have seen the assailant, but they came up with nothing.

On Thursday afternoon, the woman, who is in her 30s, sat down with a sketch artist at the Sheriff's Office in the hope that a composite picture might jog someone's memory.

"We are hoping for something solid to lead us in the right direction," sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha said. "Hopefully, the composite sketch will be of some help to spark someone's memory."

The woman told investigators she was attacked from behind on the well-lit, fairly well-traveled sidewalk. She said the man placed a rope around her neck and pulled her into the grass next to the sidewalk and sexually assaulted her. The man then took her engagement ring from her finger, she said, before jumping a fence around the apartment complex and running away.

The woman described the attacker as a male with a medium build, possibly in his 30s, 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-8 and wearing a red shirt and blue shorts. She also told deputies he may have scratches on his face from her defending herself.

Anyone with information about this crime can call the Sheriff's Office at (727) 582-6200.

- Staff writer Robert Farley can be reached at (727) 445-4185 or farley@sptimes.com.

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