Police said they have detained a man in connection with the rape of a 13-year-old girl in Queens Park last week.
According to the New York Police Department, community members recognized Christian Geovanny Inga-Landi, a 25-year-old Ecuadorian migrant who illegally entered the country in June 2021, from a photo and video that police had published.
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Police reported that after a fight with his captors, they tied him, possibly with a belt, and roughed him up. They transported him to the hospital for an assessment.
Inga-Landi waived his Miranda rights and informed police that he had a drug problem and had never done anything like this before, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny.
Eagle Pass, Texas, had previously arrested him for illegally entering the country. He also had three summonses in New York City, as well as a domestic violence incident with police that did not result in an arrest.
Charges against Inga-Lani include first-degree rape, sex abuse, robbery, menacing, second-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, and other offenses.
During an interview with New York ABC station WABC, NYPD Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry complimented the community efforts that led to the suspect’s arrest.
“The kids, children, principals, and teachers can now go to school with a little more ease, and the family can have a sense of relief today,” he stated.
Reflecting on the investigation, Daughtry praised the young victims’ bravery and the community’s support.
“The sketches from those brave kids were invaluable,” he stated. “Old-fashioned police effort, paired with contemporary technologies, helped us bring this investigation to a close. The city responded with a resounding ‘no’ to this horrific murder.
The sexual assault occurred around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, when a guy approached two schoolmates, a 13-year-old male and a 13-year-old female, in Kissena Park. The attacker brandished what authorities described as a “large machete-style knife” and forced the 13-year-old victims to go several minutes into a forested area.
The attacker then forcibly removed both victims’ telephones, tied the child and girl’s wrists together with a shoelace, and sexually abused the female victim before departing the scene on foot in an unknown direction.
The two 13-year-olds were brought to the hospital in stable condition after returning to school to explain what had occurred.
Investigators found the shoelace used to tie the children’s hands together, as well as a water bottle that the suspect had left behind.
The description of the wanted person included a Hispanic male in his 20s, standing approximately 5 feet, 5 inches tall, with curly hair, and last seen wearing red sneakers and carrying a green rucksack. He appeared to be wearing dental braces and had a tattoo of a boar or bull with crimson eyes over his chest.
“The entire police department is focused on getting justice for this young survivor,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny stated at a press conference last week.
Late Monday, the NYPD released images of a person of interest and offered a $10,000 prize for information in the case.
