A masked man strangled a woman with a belt before dragging her behind a car and raping her on a New York street, a chilling CCTV video has revealed.
The yet-to-be-identified man had covered his face with a white cloth as he approached the woman from behind. In the video, he appears to have a brief conversation with her before she walks away. Seconds after she moves, the man pulls out a loop of a belt, throws it over her head and violently yanks it to the ground.
With the belt still firmly in his grip, he drags her across the sidewalk as she passes out. He then pulled her between two parked cars where he raped her before fleeing the scene, police said.
The incident occurred around 3 a.m. on May 1 in the city's Bronx borough. The 45-year-old victim was walking home when she was attacked.
The survivor was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and is in a stable condition. According to a report by US media, the survivor has stopped cooperating with authorities.
New York police are still searching for the man and have released a description of the attacker. They described the man as 6 feet tall, wearing a black “GAP” sweatshirt, white pants and black, red and white sneakers.