Migrant allegedly gagged 13-year-old girl and then raped her in Queens Park

Mira Wassef and Video: Nicole Johnson

16 mins ago

Editor’s note: This video originally aired on June 18, 2024.

QUEENS, NY (PIX11) — The migrant accused of raping a 13-year-old girl at knifepoint allegedly stuffed a headscarf into her mouth before ripping her clothes off and attacking her in a Queens park, prosecutors said.

Christian Inga, 25, is also said to have gagged a 13-year-old boy and robbed both teenagers after sexually abusing the girl in the wooded area in Kissena Park on June 13, according to the criminal complaint.

Inga allegedly admitted the sequence of events, including tying the two teenagers’ wrists together with a shoelace and then threatening them with a machete-like knife, authorities said.

The suspect was charged on Wednesday with rape, sexual abuse, sexual assault, robbery, kidnapping and false imprisonment. He is due back in court on July 1. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison.

“This attack on two children in broad daylight in a city park strikes at the core of our society,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.

Inga, who is from Ecuador, was arrested around 1:10 a.m. Tuesday near 108th and Waldron Streets in Queens after police responded to a 911 call, according to the NYPD. Bystanders detained him until police arrived at the scene. Inga resisted, but the good Samaritans subdued him, possibly using a belt to restrain him, police said.

Neighbors recognized Inga from the wanted poster and waited for him at a local wine cellar, they said. When he got there, “they all sprang into action” and grabbed the suspect, police said. One of the neighbors then pulled Inga out of the wine cellar and onto the street before calling police.

“I can explain. Please let me go back to my country… I can explain!” the suspect told neighbors, according to witnesses.

According to NYPD Criminal Investigation Chief Joseph Kenny, the suspect approached the teens around 3 p.m. in a field in Kissena Park near the corner of Colden Street and Kalmia Avenue and told them to follow him into the woods.

According to court documents, Inga then tied her hands together with a shoelace, gagged her and ripped the girl’s clothes off before sexually abusing her.

Inga allegedly stole the victims’ cellphones and told them to wait 20 minutes before fleeing the scene with the knife, authorities said. The victims, who were classmates, returned to their school to report the attack.

“These victims provided critical information necessary for the arrest,” Kenny said.

The suspect told police he had a drug problem and found the knife he used to threaten the teens, Kenny said. He also identified himself on a video that was shown to him.

“He said it was the first time he had ever done anything like that,” Kenny said.

Inga entered the United States in 2021 with a three-year-old child. He was arrested in Texas on illegal entry charges before being released pending his court date, police said. He lived on 108th Street near the scene where he was arrested, police said.

“A violent criminal has been taken off our streets,” said NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban.

Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.