Brooklyn man arrested in series of sexual assaults targeting women across borough

A Brooklyn man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly sexually assaulting five women, ages 21 to 60, in separate incidents in the borough over the past few weeks, police said.

Brooklyn Special Victims Squad detectives took Kalen Bell of Vinegar Hill into custody at 9:25 a.m. on April 8 at the 77th Precinct stationhouse, where the 26-year-old was charged with five counts of forcible touching and five counts of third-degree sexual abuse.

Detectives escorted the alleged creep out of the Borough’s Special Victims Unit, located at 653 Grand Ave., on Tuesday afternoon. He refused to answer questions from the media about his alleged crimes before he was loaded into the back of a waiting police car en route to criminal court for arraignment.

Authorities say the incidents occurred between March 19 and April 2, within the confines of Brooklyn’s 84th and 88th precincts, where Bell allegedly approached the women from behind and committed lewd acts.

According to police sources, in each case, Bell would allegedly thrust his pelvic area against the victim’s buttocks before fleeing the scene.

The first incident occurred on March 19, at approximately 6:45 a.m., when a 30-year-old woman was walking near Gold and Front Streets. According to police reports, the woman was approached from behind by an unidentified individual, who grabbed her waist and performed the lewd act. The suspect fled the scene on foot, and the woman was unharmed physically.

Several days later, on March 30, at around 7:48 a.m., a 21-year-old woman walking near Middagh and Willow Streets experienced a similar attack. The assailant approached her from behind, placed his hands around her arms, and committed the lewd act before fleeing the area on foot. Again, no physical injuries were reported, but the woman was left shaken by the assault.

The third and fourth incidents followed a similar pattern. On April 1, at 10:29 p.m., a 34-year-old woman walking near Henry and Joralemon Streets reported that an unidentified individual approached her from behind, grabbed her waist, and performed a lewd act. As in the previous cases, the suspect fled the scene before the woman could react.

Hours later, on April 2, at 3:40 a.m., a 60-year-old woman was walking near Fulton Street and Ashland Place when she was approached by an individual, who similarly assaulted her. The suspect once again fled on foot after committing the act, and no injuries were reported.

Authorities circulated images of the alleged creep through Crime Stoppers last week and arrested Bell on April 8 after a member of the public identified him as the alleged perpetrator.

Details of the fifth incident were not immediately available at the time of Bell’s arrest.