Police ID ‘pantless rapist’ suspect

Police on Friday identified a man who allegedly raped a woman near Eighth and Race Streets Sunday night and left his pants at the scene.

Alberto Isaac Navarrete Suarez, 33, stands about 5-foot-7, and has dark hair and a medium build. He faces charges of sexual assault and attempted murder.

Police said Suarez left his pants and a wallet containing an ID at the crime scene, but said Friday that the ID was fake.

Authorities would not say how they identified Suarez, citing the ongoing investigation, but said it involved considerable legwork.

"This did not come easily," said Capt. John Darby of the Special Victims Unit.

Darby said investigators could not find any record that Suarez, who is Mexican, entered the country legally. Immigration officials have been notified, Darby said, and Suarez is on a watch list.

Suarez has been in the Philadelphia area for only a few months, Darby said. He was staying with friends in South Philadelphia but was not there when police searched the home.

Police would not comment on whether Suarez had any record of employment in the area.

"Mr. Suarez is obviously transient in nature," Darby said.

The 22-year-old victim was attacked around 9:30 while waiting for a bus just steps from Police Headquarters. Police said Suarez dragged the woman to a secluded area and raped and choked her. A passerby saw the commotion and called 911, police said, and when the attacker heard sirens he fled.

The woman has been released from a hospital and is recovering from her injuries, Darby said.

Anyone with information is being asked to call the Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3251.