Police have arrested a suspect in connection with a disturbing incident of assault and rape that took place in the Bronx earlier this month. The arrest comes after a video of the assault went viral, sparking outrage and a search for the disgusting man behind the crime.
As we previously reported, the incident occurred on May 1st, in the vicinity of East 152nd Street and 3rd Avenue, at around 3 a.m. According to a police report, a 45-year-old woman was followed by the man who used a belt to strangle her, causing her to lose consciousness. In the video, the assailant is then seen dragging the victim behind a car and sexually assaulted her before fleeing the scene on foot towards Melrose Avenue. Surveillance images of the suspect were released by the police on Thursday night in an effort to aid in his identification and capture.
Police has since identified the suspect as 39-year-old Kashaan Parks. He was apprehended on Saturday morning at a relative’s home in the borough. The victim, who is now in stable condition, was able to assist the police in identifying Parks as her attacker. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny shared that the victim and Parks were acquainted with each other through the local community. Parks was identified, in part, by a distinct gap in his teeth. The victim initially sought medical attention at Lincoln Hospital the following day but did not report the incident to the police until a video of the assault was circulated online more than a week later.
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Upon the investigation, it was discovered that the victim had actually been arrested for petit larceny around the same time the video surfaced. This led to her interaction with law enforcement, who were already aware of the video and were investigating the incident. Surprisingly, no one from the building where the assault took place, reported the attack either prior to the video’s release.
“We became aware of it and start to try to track down where this video comes from, and lo and behold, somebody from the 40th Precinct squad said, ‘Wait a minute, she’s arrested. She’s arrested for petit larceny, and she’s downstairs right now.’ She then fills us in on what happened,” explained Chief Kenny to the news outlet.
Police eventually discovered that Parks has a history of arrests, primarily for theft of service and turnstile jumping. The victim had encountered Parks earlier in the evening but was unaware of his identity, according to Chief Kenny.
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