Man arrested in Occupy Philly sexual assault

CENTER CITY - November 13, 2011 (WPVI) -- A man is under arrest, and police are processing him for sexually assaulting a woman at the Occupy Philly camp near City Hall Saturday night.

The rape occurred around 7:45pm Saturday night, and that the woman walked to a nearby pay phone and called 911.

Police say the victim is a 23-year-old woman from Atlantic City, and the alleged rapist is a 50-year-old man who has reportedly been arrested a number of times for a string of robberies in Michigan.

The victim was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment.

The suspect was apprehended within 20 minutes in the general vicinity of the camp. His identity is not being released.

Police cleared Dilworth Plaza where the alleged assault took place while the Crime Scene Unit and Special Victims Unit investigated.

Officials say the Occupy Philly movement has been peaceful so far. Incidents of petty crimes, sex assaults and violence have been reported in other cities, but not much in Philadelphia.

The Mayor and Police commissioner have been notified.

"The Mayor is fully aware, the Police Commissioner is aware," said Lt. Ray Evers. "The scene is being held and processed. The person is in custody and is being officially identified and processed, and by tomorrow, we should have his picture out."

There are still a lot of unanswered questions, but the investigation continues.

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sex assault, rape, philadelphia, pennsylvania, occupy movement, crime, katherine scott

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