Woman assaulted on Central Avenue

The Special Victims Squad is investigating an alleged robbery and sexual abuse of a 40-year-old Lawrence woman, who was attacked near her Central Avenue home on Dec. 21 at 10:35 p.m., police said.

She walked out to her car by her home and was assaulted by a man, who stole assorted jewelry and attacked her sexually, according to police. He also threatened to use a gun, but the woman saw no firearm, police said. The woman was taken to an area hospital for treatment.

The man is described as a white or light-skinned Hispanic, 5-foot, 10-inches in height, weighing 175 to 200 pounds with a stocky build, brown eyes and no accent. He was wearing a black wool cap, a black neck warmer pulled up over the lower half of his face, a black puffy ski jacket, black cargo pants and black gloves.

Detectives are asking anyone with information about this incident to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-8477. All calls are kept confident.

On New Year’s Day at 3 a.m., two 21-year-old men, walking east along the road on West Broadway in Cedarhurst were struck from behind by a vehicle that fled the scene and headed east on West Broadway, police said.

Both men were taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside. One man, David Gerges of Cedarhurst, was in critical condition as of press time, and another was treated for a broken leg. Detectives request that anyone with information about this incident should contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-8477.

In response to this alleged crime, Lawrence Mayor Martin Oliner said that the village will install more light poles first along Central Avenue and then on Broadway to help avert incidents like this.

“The more lighting you have the better off you are,” said Oliner, who noted that installation of the lights, would have begun already if not for the Dec. 26-27 snowstorm.