Man threatens to rape grad student

A graduate student returning home early Saturday morning fled her Spruce Street apartment after a gunman accosted her and threatened to rape her, University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich said this weekend. The student took Escort Service to her building about 3 a.m. But after entering the building's foyer, she realized she had forgotten her building key, according to University Police. She then walked to the nearest pay phone, which was out of order, to call the building's security officer. She then decided to return to her building. When she re-entered her building, a man followed her in and told the woman he was going to rape her, Kuprevich said. The woman then ran out of the building and got away, Kuprevich said. The assailant was described as 5-foot-7, with a medium build and wearing a black scarf around his face. Saturday's incident follows a string of crimes against women in the University area. Last Tuesday, a woman was abducted at gunpoint at 36th and Ludlow streets and forced to drive a man to North Philadelphia. Last Wednesday, a woman was abducted at gunpoint at 34th and Chestnut streets, and taken to North Philadelphia, where she was sexually assaulted and shot in the face. Last month, a student was followed into her apartment on Walnut Street, where a man attempted to rape her. And at the end of August, a woman was raped behind a fraternity house at 36th Street and Locust Walk, and a woman was raped on St. Mark's Square, between 41st and 42nd streets.