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The Syracuse Police Department has arrested a man in connection to an attempted sexual assault of a Syracuse University student in Oakwood Cemetery.

A man robbed and attempted to sexually assault an SU student, 22, who was running through the cemetery early Wednesday morning. SPD on Thursday identified 35-year-old Kenneth Kaufman, of Syracuse, as the suspect in the case. He has no connection to SU, according to SPD.

Kaufman was arrested and charged with first degree attempted rape, third degree robbery and fourth degree criminal mischief. He is a level two registered sex offender in New York state. He was convicted in 2004 for forcible touching of a 16-year-old girl and sentenced to nine months in local jail, according to the state’s sex offender registry.

The suspect, who was reportedly not wearing any clothes, jumped out of bushes around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday and attacked the student, according to SU’s Department of Public Safety. The man stole the student’s phone and fled the scene on foot after another runner came to assist the student.

Kaufman was located later on the 1400 block of South Salina Street, SPD said. SPD investigated the incident with DPS and the SUNY-ESF University Police Department.

“A special thanks to our community members who provided valuable information that led to the apprehension of the suspect,” DPS said in a campus-wide email Thursday.

Published on October 8, 2020 at 12:50 pm

Contact Mira: mlberenb@syr.edu