NYPD is intensively searching for suspect who raped 13-year-old girl in Queens Park, offering $10,000 reward

NEW YORK — The search for the man who, according to police, sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl in a park in Queens last week.

On Monday evening, the New York Police Department released the first images of the man it says it is looking for and offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Investigators say no tip is too small.

Officers distributed new leaflets with the suspect’s picture in the hope that someone would recognize him. According to police, he raped the girl on Thursday after school in Kissena Park.

According to detectives, the suspect dragged the teenager and her classmate – a 13-year-old boy – into a wooded area and tied them up with shoelaces before committing the disturbing crime. He also took their mobile phones and left behind a shoelace and a water bottle, which are still being examined by forensic teams.

“He should not be released to do something like this again,” said local resident Mikki Alvarez. “He is an evil person.”

Calls for more police and cameras in Kissena Park

Kissena Park was almost empty on Monday night, probably due to news of the crime.

“It’s shocking. Normally this park is crowded. Parents use it as a waiting area to pick up their children,” said local resident Bernard Chow.

“People are scared right now. Nobody is taking their children outside and that’s sad,” said local resident Shah G.

The park was almost empty, even though an NYPD mobile operations center was parked in front of it.

“There was no camera there and a lot of people happened to be coming to that area,” said Shah G.

Community leaders also met Monday night to call for a stronger police presence and cameras in the area. Officers also distributed fliers in various languages ​​in the hope of finding that one clue that would lead them to the suspect’s trail and calm the quiet community.

“We want people to come to the park. If you remove all the abandoned parts of the park, you will remove all the crime,” said John Kelly of Eastern Queens Greenway.

CBS New York has learned that cameras will be installed in and around the park, but it is unclear when this will happen.

Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477)or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or DM on Twitter, @NYPDTipsAll calls will be treated confidentially.