The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office says it is searching for a man who assaulted, raped and robbed a woman early Saturday in Sebago after her vehicle became stuck on a slippery hill in a remote part of town.
The 41-year-old woman told police that her car was stuck on ice on a secondary road when a motorist in a pickup truck with New Hampshire license plates and towing snowmobiles stopped and offered help about 12:30 a.m. When she got out of her vehicle, the man attacked her, punched her in the face and sexually assaulted her, said Chief Deputy Naldo Gagnon.
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The man then stole money from the woman’s vehicle and drove off, leaving the injured woman on the side of the road, Gagnon said.
“Beating anybody is bad enough. Beating a woman out in the wilderness and taking advantage of her is just horrific,” he said.
The woman was able to drive her car up the hill and make it home, where she called police. Police encouraged her to go to the hospital, where she was treated for injuries and released.
Investigators recovered biological evidence from the attacker, and planned to take it to the Maine State Police crime lab today so investigators can develop a DNA profile.
Police will enter that profile into state and national databases and try to identify a suspect or link the attack to other crimes. Police have shared information about the suspect’s vehicle with other agencies in Maine and authorities in New Hampshire, Gagnon said.
The sheriff’s office is asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect, who was driving a gray or dark-colored GMC full-size pickup with a “Ski-Doo” sticker on the right lower corner of the back window. The truck was towing a trailer carrying one red and one yellow snowmobile, the sheriff’s office said.
The man is described as 6 feet tall, weighing 170 pounds and wearing a black hooded jacket, a beanie style watch cap and gold framed glasses.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office tip line at 774-1444, ext. 2208, or go to www.cumberlandso.org.
Police say violent attacks and rapes by a stranger are rare, although there was another case in Sebago in 2005.
A woman was on her back deck when a man emerged from the woods, beat her and raped her. That case remains unsolved. Police say they have no reason to think the two incidents are connected.
Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at: dhench@pressherald.com
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