St. Paul police are asking for the public's help in finding a man they say ambushed a homeless woman sleeping in a downtown ramp on Easter morning, punched her in the face and sexually assaulted her.
The attack occurred about 5 a.m. in the sixth-floor stairwell of the Capital City Plaza ramp at 50 E. 4th St., police said.
The 46-year-old woman's face was cut and bruised from the blows she took as the suspect threatened to kill her if she looked at him, said police Sgt. Mike Ernster.
The woman was unable to provide a description of the man because covered her face with some type of clothing, Ernster said.
After the suspect fled, the woman went to the nearby Intercontinental Hotel, "where staff called 911 for her," the sergeant said.
The woman was sleeping in the ramp because she missed her curfew at a Minneapolis shelter, according to Ernster.
"Investigators are looking at any camera footage in the area that may have captured any of this incident," the sergeant said. "[It's] unknown what they have found at this point."
Police ask that anyone with information about the assault should call them at 651-291-1111.
