Man Gropes Worker At Upper East Side Ice Cream Shop: Police

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A man walked into an Upper East Side ice cream shop early Monday and sexually assaulted an employee, according to police, who released video of the incident and asked for help identifying the suspect.

The assault happened around 12:30 a.m. Monday inside UES., the ice cream parlor and speakeasy lounge on Second Avenue between East 88th and 89th streets.

Security footage shows the man walking into the shop and approaching the worker, a 28-year-old woman. The man backed her into a corner and tried to grab her before retreating and briefly leaving the shop, the video shows.

Moments later, he returned and backed the woman into a small area behind the counter, where he grabbed her breast and buttocks, then reached under her dressed and grabbed her upper thigh, according to police.

At that point, the woman's coworkers came to her aid and the man left the shop, according to police. The woman was not physically injured.

Police described the suspect as a Black man between 6 foot 3 and 6 foot 4, weighing between 140 and 160 pounds. The video released by authorities also shows the man walking on the street near the ice cream shop, just before the assault.

Authorities asked anyone with information to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). People can also submit tips online or on Twitter, @NYPDTips.

Crime has mostly dropped so far this year on the Upper East Side, according to NYPD statistics. Reports of robberies and burglaries are both down, while some other crimes, like assaults and car thefts, have risen.