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Man Wanted In 4 Back Bay Attacks In 9 Hours

BOSTON (CBS) - Women in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood are on alert after a string of indecent assaults.

The attacks happened in a span of more than eight hours from 10:13 PM Tuesday to 6:55 AM Wednesday. In each case the suspect is described as a 20-30 year old white male with blond hair. He was wearing a tan construction type jacket.

The first two assaults occurred on Dartmouth Street. The suspect approached women to ask questions and then indecently assaulted them and ran away. Two hours later at 12:42 AM, a woman was approached on Newbury Street by a man who assaulted her to fled.

Wednesday morning on Commonwealth Avenue near Gloucester Street, a fourth woman was walking her dog when the suspect tried to assault her. When she screamed, he punched her.

"It was really loud. She screamed and there was a dog barking," said Kevin Matthewson who heard the attack from his window.

Matthewson's mother told WBZ, she had been followed the night before by a man fitting the same description. He only left her alone after she jogged ahead to join some men walking down the street.

Many women said they would take extra precautions until a suspect is in custody.

"Just hearing that so many have happened in such a short amount of time, less than 24 hours, it's insane. It makes you really uneasy," said a young woman walking into her apartment.

Police say they do not believe the attacks are linked to sexual assaults earlier this year in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.

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