New York

Alleged Central Park Rapist Threatened to Cut Woman's Throat if She Screamed: Complaint

The criminal complaint also alleges Forrest Richardson stole the woman's phone and kicked her in the head before running off

What to Know

  • The suspect has 30 prior arrests, including two for sexual assault in 2013 and 2014
  • Court documents say he threatened to kill the woman if she screamed
  • It was the first reported rape in Central Park this year, according to police records

The 26-year-old Bronx man accused of raping a woman walking in Central Park last week allegedly threw the victim to the ground and threatened to cut her the throat if she cried out for help, according to a criminal complaint.

Forrest Richardson, who has a long rap sheet, was arraigned Monday on charges of first-degree rape and sexually motivated robbery in the Oct. 10 attack on the woman in the park near Park Avenue and 110th Street. 

According to the criminal complaint, the woman was walking on East Drive when the man came up behind her, grabbed her and pulled her into the bushes. He threw her to the ground and told her not to scream or he would "cut her throat," the complaint alleges. Richardson then allegedly rifled through the woman's pockets, stole her phone and then raped her.

The complaint alleges he kicked the woman in the head before running off.

Court documents say Richardson admitted to detectives that he was in the park and that he grabbed the woman, pushed her down, unzipped her sweatshirt and took her phone. The documents do not indicate he confessed to the rape. Police said they used the stolen iPhone to track him down. 

The woman was treated and released at a hospital after the attack. 

Richardson is being represented by Legal Aid, which has a policy of declining comment on ongoing court cases. He was remanded following his arraignment Monday and is due back in court next month.

A woman who answered the door at Richardson's listed address last week did not want to speak to NBC 4 New York. 

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. 

The NYPD said that rapes and robberies are down in the park this year, while assaults are up. There has been one reported rape 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.

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