UPDATED: 9/17/22, 12:52 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia Police have a suspect in custody following the rape of a woman in Rittenhouse Square Park early Friday morning.
Authorities confirm they have charged 42-year-old Lorinzo M. Clark with rape, robbery and related offenses after they say he raped a 29-year-old woman in the park just before 2 a.m.
“[Our victim] was walking home from a bar in the neighborhood on [South] 18th and Walnut streets when she encounters a male who forced her between two tents,” said Philadelphia Police Capt. James Kearney.
Kearney said a woman intervened and helped the victim call 911.
“We know he then fled, because a witness interrupted the sexual assault and said something out loud, ‘Hey, what’s going on there?’ which caused the assault to stop,” said Kearney.
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“The male then got up, gathered his things, then went northbound on 18th Street from Walnut.”
Officers arrived and took the woman to the Special Victims Unit.
Clark was taken into custody Friday on the 1600 block of Chestnut Street. Police identified him in a video obtained by investigators, leading to charges.
The tents in Rittenhouse Square are set up throughout the park in preparation for the annual Fine Arts Show this weekend.
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“The tents provided an opportunity for seclusion,” said Philadelphia Police Lt. John Hewitt.
Police said at least one privately-hired security guard was in the square when the sexual assault occured. They were keeping watch over the tents lining the park ahead of the art show, but they weren't patrolling the park.