UPDATE (8/6/25): Philadelphia police have arrested 37-year-old Dynel Walker in connection with the sexual assaults of at least six women in Center City and South Philadelphia over the past few weeks.
Walker, of Northeast Philadelphia, was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon in Horsham Township, Montgomery County, after authorities received a tip regarding his whereabouts. Investigators believe Walker may be responsible for additional sexual assaults, and he is being held for questioning pending charges.
UPDATE (8/5/25): Late Monday night, Philadelphia police released a series of surveillance photos showing the man suspected of sexually assaulting five women in the city in recent weeks. Authorities did not share any additional information about the suspect.
Provided Image/Philadelphia Police
Surveillance images show a man suspected of sexually assaulting five women in Philadelphia between July 18 and Aug. 3.
The original story is below.
At least five sexual assaults reported in Center City and South Philadelphia over the past few weeks may be tied to one suspect, police said Monday.
The five assaults took place between July 18 and August 3, including three over the weekend at different locations, police said. Each case involved a man approaching a woman from behind, and police said the five women each provided descriptions suggesting they likely were targeted by the same man.
“It seems like it’s escalating,” Capt. Margo Alleyne-Parker, head of the police department’s special victims unit, said at a press conference Monday afternoon.
All of the women described the suspect as a man between 25 and 35 years old, slim and about 6 feet tall, police said. The women said the man wore his hair in twisted braids or dreadlocks, sometimes tied up in a ponytail. The women were all in their 30s, police said. The suspect does not appear to have been armed during the assaults.
“Some incidents he walked away, some incidents he ran away,” Alleyne-Parker said. “There’s no vehicle involved.”
Some of the assaults “may have went a little further” than groping, Alleyne-Parker said, but police declined to share more details. In most of the assaults, the women received assistance from bystanders after they yelled for help, police said.
The first assault happened July 18 on the 1900 block of Spruce Street. A woman told police she was walking her dog around 6:40 a.m. when a man walked up behind her and said, “Good morning, beautiful.” The suspect then groped the woman and fled on foot, police said.
The next day, another woman told police she was about to enter her apartment on the 2000 block of Delancey Street around 3:15 a.m. when a man approached her and sexually assaulted her.
“She stated she shoved the offender and she pushed him back, causing her to fall to the ground,” Alleyne-Parker said, adding that the woman suffered cuts to her knee and elbow.
The third assault happened Saturday around 8:15 a.m. on the 1600 block of Waverly Street. A woman told police a man reached over her shoulder and sexually assaulted her on the street before leaving the scene.
A fourth assault took place at 1 a.m. Sunday on the 400 block of South 15th Street. The woman told police she had just left a bar in the area and was walking to her car when a man sexually assaulted her from behind.
Jon Tuleya/PhillyVoice
A woman reported being assaulted by a man on the 400 block of South 15th Street, above, after leaving a nearby bar around 1 a.m. Sunday, police say.
The last assault happened Sunday afternoon in Southwest Philadelphia, several blocks below South Street in the city’s Schuylkill neighborhood. The woman told police she was opening her garage door around 12:30 p.m. when a suspect grabbed her from behind and groped her.
Authorities believe it’s possible that additional women were recently assaulted by the same suspect. Investigators plan to review other assaults reported over the past several months.
“Anyone that hasn’t made a report (should) definitely come to special victims to make a report,” Alleyne-Parker said. “And for those that live in the area, definitely check your cameras to see if you have this male on camera.”
Police are reviewing surveillance video from the area of the assaults to share images of the suspect with the public.
“We’re working on that,” Alleyne-Parker said. “At this point, we just wanted the public to be aware — especially those that are living in that area, just to be aware of their surroundings.”
In the event of more assaults, police said women should scream for help and call 911. Anyone with information can call the department’s tip line at (215) 686-8477 or submit an anonymous tip online.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
