By Matthew Monks
A token booth clerk heard the 21-year-old's call for help just before 3 a.m. on the southbound track of the G station at 21st Street/Van Alst Street. Complying with New York City Transit guidelines, he stayed inside his booth and pushed a panic button to alert police, Transit spokesman Charles Seaton said. “The clerk has no way of knowing if that was a ruse for the booth to be robbed,” Seaton said. Police arrived 10 minutes later and took the victim to Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition, Police said. Police released a sketch of the assailant Tuesday night showing a 20-something black or Hispanic man wearing a camouflage cap. He fled the area dressed in a black or gray windbreaker with a zipper in front and khaki cargo pants, police said. The woman and her assailant had been in the same subway car as she headed toward her stop in Greenpoint Brooklyn, Newsday reported. The New York Post said she was an artist going to visit her boyfriend in Queens. Both papers said the alleged rapist harassed the woman on the train, lowering himself to fondle her feet. She reportedly missed her stop and got off at the next station to head back. The man followed her, grabbed her and licked her feet, the Post said. She tried to run away up the station stairs screaming for help, but the man caught her, dragged her back down and raped her on the platform.Another transit official on a departing train also witnessed the assault and notified police, Seaton said. The spokesman said the 21st Street/ Van Alst station – which has just one exit – is among the least used in the city. Police ask anyone with information about the incident to call the city's crime hotline 1-800-577-8477 Reach reporter Matthew Monks by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
