Police: Woman sexually assaulted at knifepoint in Mount Vernon park

MOUNT VERNON - A Clarence man is accused of being armed with a knife and sexually assaulting a woman in a Mount Vernon park.

Dustin Gerald Platner, 39, is charged with second-degree sexual abuse.

Mount Vernon police said a 20-year-old woman reported a man threatened her with a knife, removed some of her clothing and sexually assaulted her around 4 p.m. Tuesday at Nature Park on Seventh Street SE.

The woman was able to break away, run to her vehicle and call police. She was taken to a hospital where she was treated and released, police said.

Police found Platner a short time later near the park, and he matched the woman's description of her assailant, according to the criminal complaint.

Police are asking anyone who may have been at the park Tuesday afternoon, or others who may have information related to to investigation, to call the Mount Vernon department at (319) 895-6141.

Comments: (319) 398-8238; kat.russell@thegazette.com