NEW YORK – EXCLUSIVE PHOTO: An illegal immigrant Ecuadorian is in NYPD custody after a broad daylight sex attack in which police said a machete-wielding man approached two 13-year-olds, one a boy and one a girl, tied them together by the wrists and raped the girl at a popular park in Queens, according to sources.
An NYPD spokesperson confirmed a person of interest was in custody but declined to provide additional details.
However, law enforcement sources tell Fox News that police arrested an Ecuardorian man Monday evening in connection with the crime. He entered the country illegally in 2021.
NEW YORK CITY GIRL, 13, SEXUALLY ASSAULTED AT KNIFEPOINT DURING BRAOD DAYLIGHT IN PARK: POLICE
Attached is a photo of the migrant who was arrested for sexual assault. His clothes are ripped, he is missing one of his shoes, and he is bruised up after residents subdued him and called 911. (Fox News)
The attack happened Thursday at Kissena Park, about 3 miles from where the New York Mets play at Citi Field and near the site of the 1964 World’s Fair and the U.S. Open. The victim also went to school in the neighborhood.
Police had been offering a $10,000 reward in the case after obtaining surveillance video showing the suspect on a bicycle.
Police found him after neighbors recognized him from the wanted poster, held him down and called 911, sources said.
“It was good police work,” said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “They got the drawings out of the suspect and his tattoo, and then were able to secure the surveillance photo and … some help from the public – but that’s how it’s supposed to work.”
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECT IN LAKEN RILEY’S MURDER INDICTED, ACCUSED OF ‘PEEPING’ ON UGA STAFF MEMBER
A person of interest seen in a still image taken from surveillance video riding a bicycle prior to his arrest. (NYPD)
The two teens were walking in the middle of the day when police say a man in his 20s approached them with the blade, and forced them into a wooded area.
After the attack, he allegedly stole their cellphones and ran off.
Police investigate the scene of a sexual assault in Kissena Corridor Park in Queens, NY on Thursday June 13, 2024. According to the NYPD, two 13-year-olds, a boy and a girl were held at knifepoint, bound, and the girl, raped by a male assailant who later fled the scene. A person of interested was arrested Monday night and identified Tuesday as an illegal from Ecuador. (Peter Gerber)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The migrant had several low-level prior offenses, including subway fare jumping and drinking in public.
Police described him as a male Hispanic in his 20s with braces and a tattoo of a horned animal with red eyes on his chest.
