The search for the guy who allegedly sexually abused a 13-year-old girl in a Queens park last week has intensified.
On Monday night, the NYPD released the first pictures of the man it claims to be hunting for, offering a $10,000 prize for information leading to an arrest. Investigators believe no tip is too small.
Officers were handing out new flyers with the suspect’s picture on them, hoping that someone would recognize him. Police believe he raped the girl in Kissena Park after school on Thursday.
Detectives say the suspect pushed the teen and her classmate, a 13-year-old boy, into a wooded area and tied them up with shoelaces before perpetrating the terrible act. He also stole their cell phones and left behind a shoelace and a water bottle, which forensic experts are still investigating.
Manhunt Launched After 13-year-old GIRL SEXUALLY ASSAULTED in Queens Park, NYPD Reports
“He should not be free to do this again,” Mikki Alvarez, a neighborhood resident, said. “He’s a vicious human being.” Kissena Park was practically deserted on Monday night, perhaps due to knowledge of the crime, prompting calls for more police presence and cameras.
“This is startling. This park is regularly crowded. “Parents use this as a holding area for their children to be picked up,” homeowner Bernard Chow explained.
“People are afraid right now. “No one is bringing their kids outside, which is unfortunate,” remarked neighborhood resident Shah G.
Despite the presence of an NYPD mobile command center out front, the park was relatively vacant.
“There was no camera there and random people coming in this area right now,” Shah G. stated.
Community leaders met Monday night, urging for more police presence and cameras in the neighborhood, while officers distributed leaflets in many languages, looking for that one tip that will lead them to the offender and put the calm community at ease.
“We want the community to come to the park.” “If you remove all of the abandoned areas of the park, you eliminate all crime,” stated John Kelly of Eastern Queens Greenway.
CBS New York has heard that cameras will be installed in and around the park, but it is unknown when this will occur.
Source: cbsnews.com