Blue city rattled as alleged serial attacker preys on women in ritzy neighborhood

Philadelphia residents are on edge after a string of sexual assaults targeting women in an upscale neighborhood of the city left authorities searching for the attacker before he struck again.

Five sexual assaults were reported within the ritzy Rittenhouse Square area between July 18 and Aug. 3, with the majority of attacks transpiring in either the late-night or early-morning hours, according to the Philadelphia Police Department. 

“One thing that was interesting about this case is the fact that his five attacks were so similar,” Carole Lieberman, M.D., a board-certified psychiatrist, told Fox News Digital. “They were the same MO, which was approaching the woman from behind, then groping her.” 

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The first incident was reported on July 18 after a woman was allegedly approached by a man and sexually assaulted while walking her dog at around 6:40 a.m., police said. The man reportedly said, “Good morning, beautiful,” before sneaking up on the woman, who screamed during the attack and caused the offender to flee the scene. 

One day later, police said another woman was trying to enter her apartment at around 3:13 a.m. when an unknown man sexually assaulted her. 

On Aug. 2, a victim reported being approached from behind and sexually assaulted at 8:15 a.m. by an unknown man, according to police. 

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Two more incidents were reported on Aug. 3, after a woman reported being approached from behind by the alleged offender while walking to her car at around 1 a.m. and sexually assaulted, police said. 

Hours later, another victim told police that she was unlocking her front door at around 12:30 p.m. when a man walked up from behind and assaulted her. 

Investigators reportedly worked to identify the suspect by zeroing in on the locations and timing of the assaults, along with the various descriptions of the alleged perpetrator. 

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“The other consistencies in the pattern are that these happened, for the most part, at times of the day when there would be less activity in the street, when the woman would most likely be alone,” Lieberman said. 

Police released security camera footage and photos of a suspect near one of the scenes of an alleged assault. 

Three days after the last reported pair of incidents, authorities announced 37-year-old Dynel Walker was arrested for his alleged role in the five assaults. 

“This is someone who probably has a very solitary life, a very lonely life,” Lieberman told Fox News Digital. “He may have some kind of psychiatric disorder, in terms of needing this kind of sexual gratification and not having people in his own life, like the ability to have normal girlfriends and get sexual satisfaction in the usual way.”

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Walker is facing numerous charges, including aggravated indecent assault without consent, unlawful restraint with serious bodily injury, forcible indecent assault and false imprisonment, according to court documents.

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office and the attorney representing Walker did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

While the attacks rattled the Philadelphia neighborhood, Lieberman pointed to the suspect’s “brazen” boldness while allegedly carrying out the series of incidents and maintaining a specific pattern surrounding the time of day and manner in which the victims were approached. 

“What one can see besides this consistency is that this was someone who has a compulsion to keep doing this attack,” she said. 

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According to Lieberman, the satisfaction the attacker likely felt after allegedly carrying out each crime was short-lived, resulting in him choosing to seek out new victims – a common driving force for sexually motivated offenses. 

“He was escalating in his attacks,” Lieberman told Fox News Digital. “They were getting closer together in time, and so there was more urgency for him to be caught.” 

As the community looks to restore a sense of safety while authorities investigate to determine if Walker is responsible for any other incidents, Lieberman looked to various ways women can protect themselves while outside their homes. 

According to Lieberman, women can take precautionary measures by walking in groups, carpooling and alerting others regarding their plans before leaving. 

“It’s a dangerous thing for women anywhere to be out when it’s dark, alone,” Lieberman said. “Some places are more dangerous than others, but you are taking a risk when you do that.”