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New Yorker describes how she tracked down a child rape suspect after recognizing him on a police wanted poster

A man was arrested on suspicion of raping a 13-year-old girl. Residents of Queen’s recognized him from a wanted poster and arrested him.

Christian Geovanny Inga-Landi, 25, has been accused of a number of charges since his arrest by authorities, including rape, robbery, kidnapping, sexual abuse, threats and false imprisonment.

The suspect was arrested early Tuesday after local community members recognized the man from an NYPD fact-finding call.

Angela Sauretti, 23, said The Daily Beast that she was with a friend at the 108th Street Grocery in Queens at 1 a.m. on Tuesday when she recognized the man in the black hoodie.

“I showed him to me,” Sauretti told the outlet. “I was like, ‘Hey, that’s him?’ (The friend) said, ‘Yeah, that’s him.’ That confirmed it. And everything went downhill from there.”

Then, Sauretti said, she grabbed the man in the hoodie. “He tried to run away, so I put him in a headlock,” she said The daily beast.

“He got something his mother should have done to him,” she added. “That’s how I put it.”

Inga-Landi became a suspect for the NYPD after investigators learned that a 13-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl were threatened with a machete knife after school in Kissena Park last Thursday, CBS reported.

It is alleged that the teenagers’ hands were tied with shoelaces before the girl was sexually abused.

25-year-old Christian Geovanny Inga-Landi has been charged with rape
25-year-old Christian Geovanny Inga-Landi has been charged with rape (NYPD)

When Inga-Landi was arrested on Tuesday, the man continued to resist and protest, Sauretti explained.

“He said, ‘Let me explain!’ I said, ‘There’s nothing to explain. You’re a rapist,'” she recalled to the outlet. “He said, ‘I don’t care.’ I said, ‘What do you mean you don’t care? You’re a rapist.’ He said, ‘I don’t care.'”

A group of other residents also reportedly joined in the attempt to catch the man, with a 67-year-old woman kicking Inga-Landi and taking off one of her shoes to hit him with it, the outlet reported.

Jeffery Flores also said CBS News He was among those who prevented the man from going anywhere after he was discovered in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

“I came and just dragged him out of the store because I was so angry about the situation, you know?” Flores told the outlet. “I have two little sisters. I’m having a daughter soon, you know? I couldn’t just walk away.”

The NYPD's profile
The NYPD’s profile (NYPD)

“After that, I’m not going to lie, everyone just started beating him,” Flores added, saying they tied his legs with a belt.

Inga-Landi tried to escape, lost his T-shirt and hoodie and managed to crawl under a car.

“Like a cat,” said Sauretti The daily beast, before NYPD officers arrived at the scene to arrest the man.

Sauretti told the outlet that police officers had informed those arrested that it was a citizen’s arrest.

“We have determined that the community is holding our perpetrator,” NYPD Criminal Investigation Chief Joseph Kenny said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

“At the time, the community tried to detain the perpetrator while waiting for the police. He resisted them, and the community still managed to detain him until we got there.”

“I especially want to thank New Yorkers. There is no greater force multiplier than the eyes and ears of a fully engaged public,” added NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban.

“This is exactly what we mean when we say public safety is a public responsibility, and the last few days have proven once again that the people of the city can come together and get the job done like no one else.”

The New York Police Department has offered a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the suspect’s arrest, but Sauretti said the money has in no way motivated her to help police find the alleged rapist.

Angela Sauretti, 23, who arrested a child rape suspect
Angela Sauretti, 23, who arrested a child rape suspect (ABC)

“I would have done it even if it hadn’t been a reward, because at the end of the day I feel like it’s the right thing to do,” she said The daily beast.

The suspect was treated at Elmhurst Hospital for minor injuries before being transported to the 112th Precinct.

After the attack in Kissena Park last week, the man allegedly took the teenager’s cell phones but left behind a shoelace, a red bandana and a water bottle, which are currently being examined by authorities, according to CBS.

According to the New York Police Department, Inga-Landi is an Ecuadorian father of two who crossed the border into Texas about three years ago.

He was arrested at the time for illegally entering the United States, but was released pending the processing of his application.

“The offender, after waiving his Miranda rights, made statements in which he stated that he had a drug problem, that he had found the knife he used to threaten the two teenagers, and that this was the first time he had done anything like this,” Kenny said.

Rape Crisis provides support for victims of rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.ukIf you are in the US, you can call Rainn at 800-656-HOPE (4673).