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HARASSMENT IN THE NEWS Officer Thwarts Central Park Sex Attack Following is another instance of harassment turning to violence (see the last paragraph). By The New York Times A 34-year-old Manhattan woman narrowly escaped being raped in a busy section of Central Park yesterday morning when a police officer on his lunch break responded to her screams and arrested the attacker, police officials said. Detective Martin Mullen, who is assigned to the Police Department's transit bureau, heard the woman's screams about 11:40 a.m., and arrested David Daniel Shorter, 48, who was charged with sexual abuse and attempted rape, officials said. Detective Mullen said that when he ran over, Mr. Shorter was on top of the woman and had removed one of the three pairs of shorts he was wearing. Several passers-by helped the detective restrain Mr. Shorter until other officers arrived, he said. Mr. Shorter later told the police that he had recently been released from a mental care center in New Jersey, officials said. Detective Martin Mullen, who is assigned to the Police The woman, an Italian citizen who recently moved to Manhattan with her husband, was treated for cuts and bruises at the scene. She told investigators that Mr. Shorter had approached her before the attack and made sexually suggestive comments, so she had moved to the location where the police said he later attacked her.