Newark authorities are actively investigating a reported robbery and attempted sexual assault of a woman inside an Essex County park in Newark's South Ward Tuesday night.
According to a preliminary investigation, Newark Police and the Essex County Sheriff's office were notified of a robbery in progress that occurred inside Weequahic Park shortly before 9:50 p.m.
Units arrived inside the park was approached by a female victim who reported that a male suspect robbed then attempted a sexual assault when she tried to escape.
Essex County Sheriff's officers - whose jurisdiction is to patrol all county parks - began searching for a thin black male suspect with dreadlocks who fled the scene immediately after the felony crime.
Police said the unidentified woman was transported to an area hospital to treat non-life-threatening injuries. Simultaneously, officers continued to search inside Weequahic Park and neighborhoods in that section of Newark's South Ward.