A fifth woman has reported being punched by a stranger at the same Brooklyn subway station, cops said Sunday.
A man was busted in connection with four of the East Williamsburg attacks last week, then released from custody by Friday, The Post reported. The fifth alleged attack at the station occurred Saturday, although it is unclear if it is tied to the others.
In the latest incident, a 26-year-old woman told police she was on the stairs of the Morgan Avenue L train stop Saturday night when a man pushed her against a wall and punched her several times in the left side of her face around 10 p.m., cops said.
Her attacker was wearing a facial covering and fled the station, cops said. The woman was treated on the scene.
The four incidents happened between Nov. 17 and Dec. 28, when the women, ages 24 to 32, were walking on stairs or ramps at the station, according to police, who never publicized the assaults. They included:
- On Nov. 17 at 8 p.m., a 24-year-old woman was approached from behind on the stairs by a stranger who punched her “multiple times” in the face and fled. The victim suffered cuts to her forehead and nose.
- On Dec. 11 at 9:15 p.m., an assailant set upon a 24-year-old victim on the stairs and punched her from behind on the left side of the face, “causing pain, redness, and swelling.”
- The attacker struck again the day after Christmas at 8:50 p.m., sucker-punching a 26-year-old woman in the left eye as she walked down the station stairs.
- Two days later, at 4:55 p.m., a 32-year-old victim told police she stepped off the train and was walking toward the token booth when a stranger “suddenly” socked her in the face, “causing a laceration, bruising and swelling.” The victim was taken to Woodhull Hospital.
On Wednesday, police canvassed the area with the victim of the Dec. 26 assault, and she identified Benny Watts, 50, to cops, a law-enforcement source said. Watts was arrested and then released again by the end of the week.
Watts’s last known address was a housing project in the East Village, police said.
Authorities would not say if Watts had prior arrests. They also didn’t give a motive.
*story by The New York Post