Woman accosted in parking lot

Manalapan police are seeking a man who is believed to be between the ages of 35 and 40 in connection with a Dec. 12 incident in which a woman was accosted in the parking lot of a convenience store on Union Hill Road.

MANALAPAN - Police have issued a sketch of a man who allegedly groped a woman in the parking lot near a convenience store on Union Hill Road. Police are asking for the public's help in identifying the suspect.

The incident occurred on Dec. 12.

Police said that as the 27-year-old woman was getting out of her vehicle in the parking lot near a Wawa convenience store, she was approached by a man who groped her after she exited her vehicle.

The woman described her attacker as being a white male, about 35 to 40 years old, standing about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing about 220 pounds. He was described as having a stocky to heavy build with short dark hair and dark eyes. The man was said to have an olive complexion and a birthmark on his right cheek.

The woman told police she was able to resist the man and to deter him by using her car keys to scrape his left cheek. Police said the woman told officers the suspect received a visible wound to his left cheek as a result of her resistance.

The woman told police she had observed the man sitting nearby in the passenger seat of a red vehicle just before he approached her. The vehicle in which he was sitting may have been a Toyota, according to police.

The incident is being investigated by the Manalapan Police Department's Detective Bureau. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact police at (732) 446-4300.