A man in custody at Rikers Island has been identified through a DNA hit as a suspect in the rape of a 24-year-old woman outside an NYU facility in October, according to a law enforcement official.

The woman was followed along the border of Washington Square Park early on a Thursday morning before she was grabbed from behind, beat and raped as she tried to enter NYU's Catholic Center on Thompson Street, authorities said.

The suspect has not yet been charged; it was not immediately clear why he was at Rikers.

NYU's vice president of campus safety wrote in an email to the NYU community on Tuesday that he was pleased to pass along the news.

"Our thoughts and prayers remain with the victim, and I am sure I express our collective feelings of relief that a suspect has been apprehended," said Jules Martin.