A homeless man with a long criminal history has been accused of randomly attacking a New York University student, following a similar incident just days earlier, according to police. The suspect, identified as James Rizzo, 45, has been arrested 16 times in the past.
On Thanksgiving Day, police reported that Rizzo shoved a 68-year-old woman while she was walking on Fifth Avenue near West 47th Street around 8:45 p.m. It’s said he struck her with his elbow unexpectedly, causing her to fall and sustain a minor injury.
The situation escalated on Monday morning when he allegedly approached a 20-year-old student, Amelia Lewis, on Broadway near Astor Place, where he hit her on the head and buttocks and pulled her hair in an alarming attack.
Following these incidents, Rizzo was charged with assault on Tuesday, facing additional counts of persistent sexual abuse and forcible touching related to the attack on Lewis.
Lewis expressed her feelings about the incident, stating, “What I really want to emphasize is how this is not OK… I’m still shocked, but I’m even more outraged that something like this could happen in this city. We really need to do something because this is unacceptable.”
Additionally, he faces charges for allegedly slapping a 59-year-old woman in the face on Mercer Street near West 3rd Street back in December 2023.
Rizzo, who had been released from prison in September, was connected to these crimes after being apprehended at the scene of a break-in at an apartment close to Washington Square Park, police noted.
He was also involved in four robberies at the same location on Bleecker and Mercer streets early Tuesday morning.
As of Wednesday, Rizzo’s arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court was still pending.
