Suspect in South Philly Sexual Assaults Is in Custody

Last week, the Point Breeze neighborhood of South Philadelphia was shaken by an early morning home invasion and sexual assault. And now, police say that they have a suspect in custody, though he hasn’t been charged in connection to the crime. At least not yet.

Police confirm that 32-year-old Raheem Felder has turned himself in after a bench warrant was issued for his arrest on a parole violation. Police are looking at Felder in connection with last Monday’s sexual assault of a woman on South Rosewood Street and an attempted sexual assault from March. Both attacks occurred in Point Breeze.

In last week’s assault, a 35-year-old woman awoke in her bedroom to find a man standing over her. After demanding money, the man sexually assaulted her, say police, and took $10 in cash as well as her keys and identification. In the earlier attack, a man broke into a home around 3 a.m. and tried to sexually assault a woman before being forced to flee. In both cases, the attacker reportedly wore red gloves.

Last week, police released surveillance video of the Rosewood Street suspect. During the attack, he wore a mask, but upon leaving, he removed it. His image was captured by neighborhood cameras. On Thursday, the City of Philadelphia announced a $10,000 reward.

By Thursday evening, investigators had searched a home on South Chadwick Street belonging to Felder’s mother, who took to TV to plead with her son to turn himself in. The mother’s home is close to both attacks, and police reportedly found evidence inside the home linking Raheem Felder to the crimes, including a pair of red gloves.

In 2002, Felder was convicted of attempted murder, aggravated assault and possessing an instrument of crime. Court records show that he was sentenced to 8-1/2 to 17 years in prison in that case. He was released in 2013 after serving 11 years behind bars.

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