WALTHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - Authorities are asking the public to be on alert following an apparent random sexual assault in Waltham, officials said.
Officers investigating the alleged assault determined that a woman in her 50s was sexually assaulted in her apartment during the early morning hours of June 14 at the Ridge Apartment Complex, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.
The woman had returned from walking her dog shortly after 11 p.m. when a man physically and sexually assaulted her, the district attorney’s office said.
“Came back into her apartment, started getting ready for bed and was confronted by a stranger in her apartment. That man sexually assaulted her, and seriously physically assaulted her in an attack that lasted several hours,” Ryan said.
Officials said the man had apparently entered her home undetected while she was outside and may have been there for several hours during the attack.
“These crimes are the worst in that you’re in a place you should feel the safest, you’re home, you’re assaulted that it happens in this way in place we have no idea somebody in your home,” Ryan said.
Police have increased patrols in the area to help ensure the safety of the residents, Waltham Police Chief Keith MacPherson said.
Some who live near the sprawling complex were surprised to hear of the attack.
“I’m always out going on a run, yeah, never feel unsafe, it’s never been a thought in my head that something like that would happen so I guess I got to rethink that,” Neighbor Christina Lob said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at 781-314-3550.
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