close
close
hsuses

Kissena Park rapist in custody, sources say – NBC New York

Theo

What you should know

  • New York police have made an arrest in the case of a stranger with braces and armed with a machete. They are said to have dragged two 13-year-olds into a forest in the park on Thursday afternoon, tied them up and sexually abused the girl before stealing both of their cell phones.
  • The children were taken to a hospital and were last reported to be in stable condition. After waiting 20 minutes after the attack, they returned to their school, which had closed shortly before, and reported what had happened, the NYPD said at a press conference.
  • Several high-ranking NYPD officials on Friday asked the public for help in identifying the tattooed stranger who allegedly pushed the schoolmates into the woods. They offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

A 25-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the brutal sexual assault of a child that has terrified a Queens community for days, two senior police officials with direct knowledge of the case said Tuesday.

The man, whose name has not been released publicly, was taken into custody at the corner of 108th and Waldron Streets, less than three miles from the popular Kissena Park, where he allegedly ambushed two 13-year-olds in a field after school on Thursday, dragged them into the woods at knifepoint and tied them up before sexually assaulting the girl.

Two senior police officials say he is an Ecuadorian citizen who arrived in New York City in 2021. They say he returned to the dorm where he lives early Tuesday and residents there recognized him from videos and police wanted posters. They then began attacking him, the sources say, and called 911 to say, “Come and get him.”

Further details on the charges were not initially available.

Several high-ranking NYPD officials asked the public on Friday for help in identifying the tattooed stranger who allegedly pushed the schoolmates into the woods. They offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

According to investigators, the boy and girl were in a field in Kissena Park around 3 p.m., just after school let out, when a man with curly hair and braces approached them and told them to follow him into the woods. When they refused, police say he pulled out a “large machete knife” and forced them into a secluded area, where he tied their wrists with a shoelace. He then sexually assaulted the 13-year-old girl.

The children told police that the man warned them to stay where they were for 20 minutes, then ran off with their phones. When the time was up, they returned to the school and told the school administration what had happened. They immediately called 911.

The children were taken to hospital in stable condition.

A shoelace was found at the crime scene, possibly the one used to bind the children’s wrists.

Related Posts