Woodbury Residents React to Sexual Assault

Katie Yates has a friend who would often take early-morning jogs along the trail at in Woodbury. No more.

Yates lives just a few blocks from the Woodbury lake, where a 33-year-old woman was at about 5:30 a.m. on Saturday. The path has always seemed a little creepy, Yates said, and after the incident over the weekend, she won’t be heading down there any time soon.

“It’s scary. It’s a horrible thing that happened to that poor woman,” she said. “You feel safe in Woodbury, but we fall into that trap of thinking we’re always safe.”

this week have been following up on potential leads called in by residents. The assailant was a man, but police don’t have a further description.

The woman, who was injured and evaluated at , told police she did not know her attacker.

Police have collected forensic evidence and sent it to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for analysis, Woodbury Cmdr. Jay Alberio said on Monday. Police hope to get a DNA match, he said. There were no new developments as of Thursday afternoon.

Jessica Nelson, who lives near Markgrafs Lake, said she would often take her young children down to the walking path.

“We actually won’t be doing that again,” she said, adding that she won’t jog there in the dark anymore either.

But Nelson said what really made her and her husband nervous was that it seemed the perpetrator had a plan in place and may have watched the woman at different times before raping her.

“It’s scary to think that it might be a neighbor,” Nelson said.

Leonard Horky has lived near Markgrafs Lake for a little more than a year. He said he was surprised to hear about the assault, but still doesn’t think it’s a dangerous neighborhood.

“Anything can happen anyplace,” Horky said.

While Sergie Gontcharenko and his wife Christina said they have had their car rummaged through and even their front door damaged in an attempted break-in, they didn’t think a crime of this magnitude could happen in Woodbury. They too live a few blocks from the lake.

“We just don’t expect this happening in this nice of a neighborhood,” Sergie said. “It’s the kind of place where we leave the garage door open when we’re gone and let the kids take the dog for a walk. Now we don’t feel that way.”

Christina is active in local Girl Scout groups, and said many of her fellow mothers often used the trail for recreation. Some were wondering if the man knew the victim, she said. Christina said she has taken her three young children down to the lake before, “and you think they’re going to be safe.”

People in the neighborhood trust each other, Christina said, and most don’t have fences around their yards. Sergie and Christina said they hope police step up patrols in the area.

“You just want to feel safe where you live,” Sergie said.

The case is under active investigation by the . Police are encouraging anyone who may have been the area at the time or may have any information to call 651-439-9381.