A man is in custody after authorities and family members said a high school English teacher was raped and robbed on a Bronx apartment building rooftop.
The development comes after a suspect approached the 23-year-old woman as she was getting into the elevator at a building on Park Avenue in Melrose early Thursday. Authorities and the woman's mother said the man choked the teacher, then dragged her up to the top of the building to rape her.
Charges against the man are pending, and his identity wasn't immediately available. Police said they were able to nab him about a half-mile from the crime scene with the help of flyers. SVU detectives canvassed the area and easily spotted him because he was wearing the same clothes.
The mother, who asked not to be identified by News 4, said the teacher was coming home after seeing her boyfriend when the man punched her and put her in a headlock until she passed out.
When she regained consciousness, the mother said she had been forced up onto the building's rooftop.
After the attack, the attacker stole her wallet and cash, according to the mother. He also asked the woman for the PIN number to her bank account and withdrew $700 within an hour.
The mother said the attacker told her he needed the money for crack cocaine and even tried to force her daughter to smoke the drug.
"She was fighting with him because he wanted her to smoke crack," she said.
After the attack, the mother said her daughter came home and told her what had happened.
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"She was crying and saying 'mommy, help me because he raped me," the mother said.
She added, "At least my daughter is alive, thank you God."
The woman was being treated at a local hospital.
