NYPD arrests man for attempted daytime rape on NYC subway platform
A Bronx man was arrested Sunday in the attempted rape of a 25-year-old woman on an Upper East Side subway platform — a disturbing daytime attack that was caught on video and ultimately thwarted by fellow New Yorkers, police said.
Jose Reyes, 31, is accused of pouncing on the woman around 11 a.m. Saturday inside the Lexington Avenue and East 63 Street F train station, the NYPD said.
“This heinous and horrendous act was interrupted by a good Samaritan who observed Mr. Reyes’ behavior and got him to cease his behavior while subsequently videotaping the incident,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said at a press conference.
Video taken by the witness showed a man — identified by cops as Reyes — on top of the woman before a crowd of bystanders intervened.
“Hey get off her!” the group yelled at the creep, cops said.
The woman had been on her way home when she boarded a train that Reyes was in. He was smoking a type of hookah and began to make “weird noises” and laugh to himself, Harrison said.
After both the victim and Reyes got off at the station, he gestured “in a masturbation motion toward her” and she attempted to move away.
However, he followed her and punched her to the ground before climbing atop of her and “attempting to spread her legs,” Harrison said.
She suffered minor injuries, but refused medical attention, police said.
Reyes was charged with attempted rape, assault and harassment.
He’s got a record on charges such as robbery, grand larceny, petty larceny, assault of a police officer and others, according to police sources.
Police on Sunday released footage of the suspect and were able to identify Reyes through a Crimestoppers tip, the sources said.
New Yorkers at the station where the brazen attack took place were horrified.
“When you hear about things like this happening in broad daylight, you really start to wonder about the fate of the city,” Marcella Rogers, 34, of Flatbush, told The Post on Sunday.
A custodian who works on the platform said such incidents have given her pause about taking the subway.
“My uniform gives me some protection because people look at me like I’m an official, even though I’m not. But to be a woman in New York City these days is not a safe thing to be, even on the Upper East Side,” the worker, who declined to give her name, told The Post.
“There’s just nowhere to hide from all the boogymen out there. They’re not afraid to come out in the daytime,” she said.
Additional reporting by Reuven Fenton
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