Gumbert Sexual Assault Investigation Continues

 are continuing to investigate the near that occurred on Oct. 11.

Police Captain David Wayman said the detective bureau is into the case but no suspects have been arrested in the attack. He declined to say how serious the leads are.

The attack involves a 20-year-old woman from Cranford reporting that she was attacked shortly before 4 a.m. on Oct. 11 while walking alone on South Chestnut Street near Gumbert Park, after leaving a friend's house to walk home. The woman said a white man between 35 and 40 years old started following her when a white minivan pulled up beside them.

The woman then told police that the white male forced her into the minivan, which was driven by a black man. She said the pair held her at knifepoint, forcibly tried to remove her clothing and engaged in what police described as "criminal sexual contact." Officers haven't clarified  what constituted "criminal sexual contact", but said it is not rape. No rape kit was administered after the woman filed her charges.

The victim said the assailants took $450 in cash from her and credit cards, before she escaped from the vehicle, which fled along Chestnut Street in to a residential neighborhood. The woman then ran towards North Avenue where she called her father on her cell phone. The woman's father picked her up in the vicinity of North Avenue and transported her to the police station to report the assault.

In addition to not having a rape kit administered, the woman declined to speak to a rape counselor. Wayman has said the investigation showed that the woman possessed the $450 in cash for a legitimate purpose.

It was looked into and it was a legitimate reason why she had that much money," Wayman said in October. "We have no reason to doubt anything that she has said. She is credible. We don't believe that she was targeted for the money. She possessed the money for a legitimate purpose. It was a matter of timing."

The black male is described as being between 40 and 45, 5'10", weighing 200 to 225 pounds, with a medium athletic build, medium complexion and dark eyes. The other suspect is described as a while male between 40 and 45 years old, 5'10", 170 to 180 pounds, with brown and gray hair, medium build and fair complexion.

Wayman said anyone with information on the case can contact the Westfield police at 908-789-4000.