N.Y. Police Arrest 6 More in Central Park Attacks

Six more men were arrested Thursday in the attacks on women who were stripped and groped in Central Park last weekend.

Investigators also said they now believe the attacks may have involved as many as 60 men. Previously, they had put the number at about 40.

The number of possible victims has risen from 24 to 32 as more women have come forward.

The arrests on Thursday brought the total number of men charged to eight, and Police Commissioner Howard Safir said more arrests are expected. Safir said the men will probably be charged with sexual assault.

Gov. George Pataki, speaking Thursday evening on WCBS-AM, said he plans to propose legislation making gang sexual assault a felony punishable by three to five years in prison.

The new arrests came after police distributed photographs Wednesday of seven men believed to have been part of the pack.

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani said police are scanning videotapes detectives have received from TV stations and private citizens, hoping to identify more suspects in the attacks. Some of the victims were stripped and fondled, while others were robbed.

About 50 tips have been made to a telephone tip line, Safir said.

At least four victims have said police officers rebuffed them when they asked for help. The department has opened an internal investigation.

Internal Affairs Bureau investigators have questioned 76 sergeants who were on duty at the parade in wake of allegations by some victims that police did not respond when told of the attacks, sources said.

All of the sergeants denied seeing the incidents or being approached by victims, the sources said.

The bureau, which has four teams of investigators working the case, has also started interviewing captains assigned to the parade, the sources said.