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Outrage In Stamford Following 'Heinous' Sex Attack

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Oct 11, 2006 7:54 pm US/Eastern

Outrage In Stamford Following 'Heinous' Sex Attack

Woman Assaulted In Front Of Small Children In Car Seats

by Tony Aiello
STAMFORD, Conn. (CBS) ―

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The police chief is vowing to "tap every resource" as investigators search for the man who sexually assaulted a woman at a hotel parking garage. The victim had just loaded her children into her minivan when she was attacked.

The attack happened Tuesday afternoon at the Marriott Hotel on Tresser Blvd in the heart of downtown.

"I'm absolutely shocked that something like that would happen in Stamford, especially at the Marriott, you'd think it's a secure place," said Stamford resident Blaine Stoebe.

Police called the attack "brazen and heinous."

They said a man approached the 40-year-old victim, stuck a gun in her back, robbed her, and then sexually assaulted her inside the minivan, moments after she had loaded her two young children into their car seats.

"The children were in the van at the time of the attack," said Capt. Richard Conklin. "We're not going to speculate what they did or did not see. The children are young children, both under the age of 6 years old."

The attack lasted about 10 minutes, Conklin said. The attacker fled after the woman began screaming for help.

The victim gave police a detailed description of the attacker. She described a light-skinned man, 45 to 50 years old, with slicked-back sandy hair and a sandy mustache. She said his skin was weathered and he spoke with what she described as a Southern or Philadelphia accent.

The gun was a dark metal revolver with a long barrel, police said.

Police told CBS 2 the attacker knows where the victim lives because of some of the items he stole from her. Police in her community, near Stamford, are providing protection.

The FBI is assisting Stamford Police in the investigation.

Conklin said surveillance video from the parking garage is being reviewed to see if it showed the attacker.