A 60-pound mutt helped save its owner from a sex-crazed would-be rapist in Central Park, law-enforcement sources said yesterday.
The dog’s owner was walking her pooch at around 8:30 a.m. on the desolate Woodlands Path between East Drive and the Loch – near the scene of the infamous 1989 jogger attack – when a man described as a muscle-bound Hispanic grabbed her from behind, sources said.
The thug – described as extremely athletic with close-cropped hair – put her in a headlock and dragged her off the path, then pulled his penis out and ordered her to perform oral sex.
When the brave Central Park West woman refused, the attacker wrestled her to the ground, punched her, and put his hand down her pants, the sources said.
The terrified woman, whose name was withheld because she was the victim of a sex attack, began to scream and punched him in the groin, they said.
“She fought him off,” said one cop on the scene. “She got in some good shots. When he pulled out his penis, she grabbed it and squeezed it.”
In the ensuing struggle, the plucky, 5-foot-4 woman bravely fought her assailant.
“She’s a tough little woman for doing what she did,” he added. “She was screaming, ‘Please, help! Please help me!’ Then she dug her fingers into his neck and put up a vicious fight.”
When the mutt – who may have been carousing off-leash nearby – realized its owner was in danger, it sprang onto the hapless ravager and took a bite out of him, sending him fleeing into the bushes, the officer explained.
“This dog saved her,” he said. “He made the difference.”
Police hope to identify the fiend through bite and scratch marks, as well as other forensic evidence.
He was described as a light-skinned Hispanic in his 30s, about 5-foot-11, weighing between 150 and 200 pounds.
He was wearing blue jeans, a royal blue jersey with the number 22 in white lettering, and brown boots.
Investigators said the man’s athletic build and close-cropped hair suggest he may have recently been released from prison.
The woman was treated at St. Luke’s Hospital and released.
With her permission, cops partially shaved the mongrel hero and took hair samples that could contain particles of the attacker’s blood. Blood droplets were also recovered at the scene.
Additional reporting by Erika Martinez and Larry Celona