The New York City Police Department is providing a reward of $10,000 for any information that results in the arrest and conviction of an individual who sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl in a remote area of Kissena Park in Queens. A police representative described the incident as "a parent's nightmare."
The event occurred at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Thursday in Flushing Park. Authorities report that two classmates, a 13-year-old female and a 13-year-old male, were present in the park close to Colden Street and Kalmia Avenue when a man approached them, brandishing a "large machete-style knife" and compelling them to enter the woods.
The assailant subsequently confiscated the cellphones belonging to both victims, bound the wrists of the boy and girl together using a shoelace, and proceeded to sexually assault the female victim before making his escape. The teenagers were later transported to the hospital in stable condition after they reported the incident upon returning to school.
The investigators retrieved the shoelace that had been employed to bind the children's hands, in addition to a water bottle that the perpetrator had abandoned.
"As a father, a member of this department for many years, this incident is a parent's nightmare," said NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey.
The authorities have characterized the individual they are seeking as a male in his twenties, standing at 5 feet 5 inches tall, with curly hair. He was last seen wearing a black shirt, black trousers, red sneakers, and carrying a green backpack. Additionally, he seemed to have dental braces and a prominent tattoo on his chest that resembles either a boar or a pig.
The incident has unsettled both students and parents alike. Residents of
this typically tranquil neighborhood are appalled to witness Kissena
Park transformed into a crime scene.
