Sexual assault
Woman attacked while jogging on Malta’s Zim Smith Trail; suspect arrested./
The town super visor said he will be discussing safety on the Zim Smith Trail with Town Board members after a woman was sexually assaulted while jogging on the trail Saturday afternoon.
The woman had stopped to stretch while jogging around 3:48 p.m. when she was grabbed from behind by a stranger at the midway point on the Malta portion of the trail, according to the Saratoga County Sheriff ’s Office. Sexual contact was forced upon her, and her face was injured during the attack, the sheriff ’s office said.
Captain Daniel P. Morley said the suspect ran off, but there were enough people in the immediate area for them to search and help sheriff ’s deputies find him. The victim was treated at the scene by emergency responders.
Tyler J. Gaston, 26, of Clifton Park was charged with firstdegree sexual abuse and seconddegree assault.
“This heinous attack goes against the very fiber of who we are as a community,” Saratoga County Sheriff Michael Zurlo said in a statement. “We are extremely hopeful the victim makes a full recovery and that the suspect is held accountable for his actions to the fullest extent of the law.”
Zurlo also thanked members of the public who provided “invaluable assistance” in the investigation. “I want to personally thank each and every one of our citizens who helped our law enforcement officials bring this case to a swift conclusion.”
Zim Smith Trail is a 9-mile multi-use trail that connects Ballston Spa to Coon’s Crossing in Halfmoon, and runs through Ballston, Malta, Clifton Park and Round Lake.
Morley of the sheriff ’s office said he was not aware of any other attacks happening on the trail in recent years — only instances of cars being broken into.
“It ’s extremely rare and I was very disturbed to hear that this morning,” Malta Town Supervisor Darren O’connor said Sunday. He said it has made him think about what could be done to make the trail safer. However, he noted the attack happened during the day when there were many other people on the trail.
“It makes me wonder what in the heck was going through this character’s mind? This was inexplicable,” O’connor said.
He noted that up until this incident, the trail has been extremely safe. “I just hope this doesn’t dissuade people from using it,” O’connor said.
O’connor said he and the Town Board will be discussing the incident. “(The sheriff ’s and State Police) do a great job, but they can’t be every where all the time,” the super visor said. “I thought about cameras. But they ’re hard to maintain and monitor. We’ll have to be thinking about this.”
Gaston, the suspect in the case, was arraigned remotely in Stillwater Town Court, and sent to the Saratoga County Jail to await further court proceedings.