Man charged with raping 13-year-old girl in Queens Park

A man went on trial Wednesday accused of raping a 13-year-old girl after tying her and another teenager up with a knife and threatening them in a Queens park, prosecutors said.

Christian Inga, 25, of Corona, was charged with first- and second-degree rape, second-degree kidnapping, sexual assault and first-degree robbery in connection with the attack in Kissena Corridor Park, the Queens District Attorney’s Office said.

He is currently being held without bail, prosecutors said. NY1 has contacted his attorney for comment.

“This attack on two children in broad daylight in a city park strikes at the core of our society,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. “We thank the brave victims who came forward and the New York Police Department for their swift action in arresting the defendant, who now faces trial in our courts.”

Prosecutors said Inga approached the 13-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy in the Flushing park around 3:30 p.m. on June 13.

Inga, who was holding a “long-bladed knife or machete,” forced the teenagers to follow him to a secluded area of ​​the park, police and prosecutors said.

After tying the teenagers’ wrists together with a shoelace, he gagged them with pieces of cloth, took their mobile phones and raped the girl, according to police and prosecutors.

Inga was arrested early Tuesday morning after a group of residents in Corona discovered and detained him, NYPD officials said.

The teenagers were taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition after the attack, the NYPD said.

Inga, who is expected to appear in court again on July 1, faces a prison sentence of up to 25 years to life if convicted.