Police have arrested and charged a man with attempted rape, robbery, sexual abuse and assault in a quick response to the attack on a woman yesterday at the W59th Street entrance to Riverside Park.
A 33-year-old woman was knocked to the ground and robbed of her phone in the early morning attack. The NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig, announced the suspect’s arrest at a press conference this morning.
The alleged assault perpetrator was swiftly apprehended and charged within 12 hours of the incident, according to Chief Essig.
On Thursday July 20, at around 4:45am, a female victim reported being attacked at W59th Street in Riverside Park. She told police she was walking in the park when a man approached her, tackled her to the ground, and took her phone. During the struggle, she managed to remove the perpetrator’s chain, which was later recovered by police. The attacker was described as a Black male, dressed in a red shirt, dark jeans and a multicolored baseball cap, and notable for his strong accent.
Surveillance footage captured the suspect fleeing the scene on a bicycle.
“Crime Stoppers vans were deployed, requests for media routes were sent out and geo-targeted ads were distributed to residents,” Chief Essig said. Teams from Manhattan North Homicide, the Gun Violence Suppression Division and the Manhattan North Video Collection assisted in the investigation.
At approximately 2:30pm the same day, detectives spotted a man matching the suspect’s description and wearing a multicolored hat. The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Luc Tatchiem Noubissi with no prior arrests, was taken into custody. Upon interrogation, police say he made incriminating statements, including admitting to leaving his chain at the scene. A subsequent search warrant executed at his residence led to the recovery of the victim’s cell phone and the red shirt he was alleged to have worn during the crime.
The victim positively identified Noubissi in a lineup, following which he was formally arrested. He now faces charges of attempted rape in the first degree, robbery in the third degree, sexual abuse in the first degree and assault in the third degree. Chief Essig said that the quick apprehension and the charges brought against Noubissi underscore the NYPD’s commitment to safeguarding the city and swiftly addressing crime.
At the same press conference, police announced the arrest of another man in connection with three sexual assaults further up Riverside Park earlier in the week.