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Witnesses and the victim helped the Bergen County prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit and Tenafly police after the girl notified police around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal said.
The man they're looking for boarded the 166 bus after the girl and tried to talk with her -- but she ignored him, Grewal said.
She got off the bus on Westervelt Avenue and immediately "noticed that the suspect was following her," he said.
Moments later he grabbed her from behind and tried to sexually assault her but then ran off, the prosecutor said.
He described the assailant as Hispanic, about 25 to 30 years old, about 5-foot-8 to 6 feet tall and 200 or so pounds, with a muscular build and light stubble on his face.
At the time, he was wearing a baseball hat with a rounded brim, a tight teal/blue shirt, and light colored shorts, Grewal said.
The man spoke English with a Hispanic accent, he said.
"While this appears to be an isolated incident, the Tenafly Police Department has directed police patrols along major bus routes within its borough," the prosecutor said.
He asked that anyone with information that could help the investigation contact Tenafly Detective Michael Vecchiarelli at (201) 568-5100 or Detective Dennis Conway of Grewal's Special Victims Unit at (201) 226-5785.
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