An Atherton Hotel employee escaped an attacker yesterday morning by kicking him until he let her go, the State College Police Department said.

The incident -- in which an unknown man attacked a female employee in an Atherton Hotel stairwell -- is classified as an attempted indecent assault, police said.

The female, who was working at the hotel's front desk yesterday morning, answered a knock at about 2 a.m. on the exit door connected to the northwest stairwell in the hotel lobby, police said.

The employee opened the door, which is usually locked, to a man who immediately attacked her, police said. The victim later described her attacker to police as a white male in his early 20s, about 5-feet 8-inches tall with a slim build and wearing a gray zip-up hooded sweatshirt.

When the victim opened the door, the man grabbed her shirt -- ripping it -- and dragged her into the stairwell, police said. In the stairwell, the man punched the victim once in the stomach before she began to fight back, police said.

After the woman began kicking him, police said the man yelled "Bitch!" and fled the scene. The alleged victim was the only witness to the attack, police said.

While the Atherton Hotel, 125 S. Atherton St., has video surveillance, police said it appears as though the woman's attacker was not caught on camera. This may be because the cameras only take photos of the lobby area every 30 seconds, police said.

Margaret Biddle, the Atherton Hotel general manager, was not available for comment as of press time yesterday.

Police have no suspects in the attack, but anyone with information is asked to call State College Police at 814-234-1750.