A manhunt is underway for the “monster” who sexually assaulted a teenage girl in a Queens, New York, park in broad daylight, authorities said Friday.
The NYPD announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the rape suspect.
The incident happened in Kissena Park around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
A 13-year-old girl was playing soccer with a 13-year-old boy when the suspect approached them. He ordered the two teenagers to follow him into the woods, according to the NYPD. When they refused, the suspect flashed a “large machete-style knife” and forced them to a secluded wooded area.
The suspect tied their wrists together with a shoelace and then sexually assaulted the girl.
When the assault concluded, he stole their cellphones and instructed the victims to wait at the location for 20 minutes. He ran from the scene in an unknown direction, police said.
The teens returned to their nearby school and contacted authorities. Paramedics took them to a hospital for treatment.
“This incident is a parent’s nightmare,” NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said during a press conference. “All the community should be very upset about this and be willing to come out and help the police department as we try to resolve this issue,” he added.
The NYPD released a sketch of the suspect in a post on X.
The suspect is described as a short, light-skinned male Hispanic in his ‘20s with curly hair. He has braces on his teeth and a distinctive tattoo of a bull or boar with red eyes on the left side of his chest, according to police. The NYPD also released an image of the tattoo.
He was wearing a black T-shirt and black sweatpants with red sneakers. He also carried a green backpack, police said.
Back at the scene, police found a shoelace and a water bottle that the perpetrator may have left behind.
NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell called the case an “all hands” response with more than 60 investigators involved in the case.
“We will leave no stone unturned until we bring this monster into justice,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry said.
“We will work with school safety and community affairs, whether it be street enforcement, to elicit information, to leafleting, whatever we need to do to take this animal—animal—off the streets,” he stated.
Police are investigating all registered sex offenders who reside in the area. The NYPD said it was scouring surveillance footage as part of its investigation. Drone teams have also been deployed to the park. The NYPD also said that it will position as many officers as it can in the area to help ease the community’s fears.
“We will use every investigative resource and, again, implore the help of the community to help us bring closure for these young children and for this family,” Chief Maddreys said, adding that it would “spare no expense” for the capture of the suspect.
Anyone with information about the incident should call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).