It happened around 5:15 a.m. Wednesday in an apartment in Washington Heights.
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The victim is out of the hospital, but she says she is still fearful for her safety.
Police released surveillance video of the man they want to question.
They say the man in the video entered the woman's apartment after the door had been left ajar. The woman's husband had just walked out, and the door did not completely close behind him.
The victim was woken up by her barking dog, and when she got up to investigate, the suspect grabbed her and slammed her on the bed as she screamed and struggled to get away.
Family members came running to her aid, and that's when the victim says the man let go and ran out of the apartment.
"He grabbed my chest and tried to cover my mouth," she said in Spanish, adding that her 11-year-old son and granddaughter were in the room with her.
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"No good, people I don't know inside my home," the victim's husband said.
The boy suffered minor injuries in the struggle.
"I'm nervous, and I'm scared," the victim said. "My kids have not eaten. They have not slept. We are all shaken up."
The suspect is described as a black man, 5'8" to 6' tall. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, dark pants, and a gray hooded sweatshirt.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).