Pittsburgh police reveal location, timing of North Side sexual assaults
Pittsburgh police on Friday said the string of sexual assaults they’re investigating on the North Side occurred overnight this summer around the East Ohio Street business district.
Police previously had not publicly narrowed down the location or divulged the timing of the assaults.
The attacks occurred “roughly between 1 and 3 a.m.” in the past 2½ months in and around the East Allegheny neighborhood, police spokeswoman Cara Cruz said in a statement.
Police have remained tight-lipped with details but have stressed residents need to be aware of their surroundings.
Officials have declined to say how many people were assaulted or how recently the attacks took place, the specific nature of the crimes or the condition of victims. Investigators suspect there are additional victims who have not yet come forward, Cruz said.
Cruz did not return phone calls Friday seeking comment.
The new information was released to the media Friday afternoon, a day after Councilman Bobby Wilson, whose district includes the East Ohio Street corridor and much of the city’s North Side, raised concerns with the dearth of information being made public.
Wilson told TribLive he has been meeting regularly with police and public safety officials on the matter. The North Side Democrat felt initial police warnings about the attacks were too vague.
“I told them, ‘You’ve got to narrow it down a little,’” Wilson said Friday. “People shouldn’t fear that when they’re going out on the North Side and walking their dog, they’re going to be sexually assaulted.”
Police first reported the sexual assaults Thursday on social media, identifying the site of the attacks simply as “the North Side” and saying they took place “during early morning hours.”
The bureau claimed that releasing more specific information could jeopardize the investigation, but police did not say how.
Police on Thursday described the perpetrator as “a smaller white male driving a white pickup truck.” Investigators believe he may be a repeat offender.
Police urge residents to take extra precautions such as traveling in groups when possible, remaining alert in public spaces, and reporting any suspicious activity immediately by calling 911.
Anyone with information regarding an incident of this nature is asked to contact the the police bureau’s special victims unit at 412-323-7800.
Justin Vellucci is a TribLive reporter covering crime and public safety in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. A longtime freelance journalist and former reporter for the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, he worked as a general assignment reporter at the Trib from 2006 to 2009 and returned in 2022. He can be reached at jvellucci@triblive.com.
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