A 26-year-old Bronx man with a long rap sheet has been arrested in the attempted rape and robbery of a woman walking in Central Park earlier this week.
Police say the man, Forrest Richardson, also faces charges of sex abuse, assault and criminal possession of stolen property in the attack on the 28-year-old woman as she entered the park at Park Avenue and 110th Street around 9:30 p.m. Monday.
Authorities say the woman was walking on East Drive when the man came up from behind and grabbed her. He dragged her off the path and searched her pockets, sexually attacked her and tried to rape her.
He then took off with her phone, authorities said. Police say they were able to use the stolen iPhone to track the suspect down.
The woman was treated and released at a hospital after the attack.
A woman who answered the door at Richardson's listed address did not want to speak to NBC 4.
Police said Richardson has a violent past with 30 arrests, including two for sexual assault in 2013 and 2014. In the June 2013 arrest, Richardson was accused of raping a 14-year-old girl. He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of child endangerment in the case and was sentenced to six months in jail, officials said. In the December 2014 arrest, he allegedly raped, assaulted and held his pregnant 22-year-old girlfriend against her will for days in Rockaway Beach. He was sentenced to four months in jail in that case.
Parkgoers Thursday were relieved to hear of the arrest.
"It's nice to have peace of mind back," said Lynette Jensen.
Meanwhile, police continue to investigate two other robberies in the park over the last week. Early on the morning the woman was attacked, a group of five or six men pushed a man off a Citi Bike at 95th Street and West Drive.
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One of the suspects punched the man while another took the bike; the victim's phone fell to the ground amid the fracas and yet another suspect grabbed that, police say. The suspects ultimately left the bike with the man and fled with the phone.
Last week, police said a 21-year-old man was walking near the gazebo at Flagpole Parkway when eight or nine men punched and kicked him to the ground before stealing his smartphone and a tablet.
It's not clear if police believe the robberies are connected.
The NYPD said that rapes and robberies are down in the park this year, while assaults are up. There have been no reported rapes so far this year, compared with two through the same point last year. Fifteen people have reported being robbed, down from 23 in 2015. There have been six assaults, compared with three through the same point last year.
