Attempted Sexual Assault In Lawrence Under Investigation: Cops

LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP, NJ — Authorities are investigating an attempted sexual assault that took place in Lawrence Township Tuesday night.

A woman told authorities she was entering a home on the 200 block of Bakers Basin Road at about 11:30 p.m. when she was approached, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday afternoon.

As she attempted to escape, the man tackled her in the road and dragged her off to a wooded area along Bakers Basin Road in the vicinity of the Delaware and Raritan Canal, authorities said.

He physically assaulted her and attempted to sexually assault her, but she was able to fight him off, authorities said. She escaped to a nearby business, where employees called the police.

Police are searching for a white man in his 30s, about six feet tall with a thin build. He had brown eyes, a dark mustache and a full, close-cropped beard.

He was last seen wearing a dark-colored, pullover hoodie and dark-colored sweatpants. A composite sketch provided by the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office is attached to this post.

Police have increased patrols in the area after the incident.

Anyone with information should contact Lawrence Police Detective Sean Kerins at 609-896-1111 or skerins@lawrencetwp.org; or Detective Alicia Bergondo of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit at 609-989-6568 or abergondo@mercercounty.org.