A suspect has been charged after attempting to rape a woman while she was sunbathing in New York City’s Central Park last month, authorities said Wednesday.
Jermaine Longmire, 43, who has been arrested eight times in New York state and has a “significant arrest history” in other states, was identified as a suspect after his DNA matched evidence left at the crime scene, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenney said.
Longmire, who was charged with both attempted first-degree rape and first-degree sexual abuse, appeared in court Wednesday.
Police say illegal immigrants are behind the rape of Morin and the assault and murder of a 9-year-old girl.
A sketch of the suspect in the attempted rape of a woman in Central Park in June. Jermaine Longmire, 43, has been charged in the attack. (New York Police Department)
“Our parks should be places where New Yorkers can relax without fear for their safety, and this alleged behavior will not be tolerated,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
Longmire was already in police custody and had been charged with other offences in 2023, including an alleged indecent assault at a subway station.
Police have cordoned off the area where a woman sunbathing in a park was allegedly sexually assaulted. (Fox News)
The latest attack occurred around 1:30 p.m., when police were dispatched to the 104th Street area of Central Park following a report of an attempted rape of a female victim. A 21-year-old woman was sunbathing alone in a secluded part of the park when a black man, believed to be in his 30s, approached her and began stripping naked.
Officials said the woman tried to get up and run away, but that’s when the man attacked her from behind. Police said the woman was able to fight off the attacker.
Investigators retrieved surveillance footage and obtained an image of the suspect, which was matched by facial recognition systems to Longmire, police said. DNA taken from the woman’s bikini also matched Longmire, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenney said.
New York City officials have released an update on the case of a woman who was nearly raped while sunbathing in Central Park. (X/@NYPDNews)
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Longmire was also wanted in connection with an indecent assault case in March after he allegedly grabbed a woman’s buttocks from behind.
