The South Brooklyn Rapist Strikes Again

The South Brooklyn Rapist struck again on Friday, August 26, at around 8:45 PM, when he followed a woman from the Prospect Avenue R station, grabbed her from behind as she walked between Prospect and Sixth Avenues, and groped her breasts. He tried to force her to the ground, but when she screamed, he ran.

This is at least the second time he has stalked a victim from the Prospect Avenue R station.

The timing of the attack is a change-up. Four earlier attacks took place between 10:30 PM and 4 AM.  The timing of the attacks may relate to the rapist's work schedule.

The suspect is described as Hispanic, 25-30 years old, 5"7' and 165 lbs. His spree, which began in March of this year, included an armed rape attempt in Bay Ridge in May. His first three victims fought free.  The fourth was not so lucky.

The first assault happened in Park Slope around 11:30 PM on March 20, when the assailant followed a 24-year-old woman from the Prospect Avenue R train station back to her 16th Street block. He grabbed her from behind, pushed her against an iron gate, ripped her leggings, and put his hands down the back of her pants. Screaming and fighting, the woman broke free and the assailant ran away, pulling up his pants as he ran.

A neighbor's surveillance video captured the incident in chilling detail. The Daily News reported it a month later, on April 22, without mention of a criminal investigation. The video was published the next day, April 23, by the Brooklyn Paper, also without further details. As it turned out, there were no further details. Park Slope Patch reported on April 26 that local residents were furious that the 72nd Precinct had failed to respond to the victim's 911 call.

According to the Bensonhurst Bean, the NYPD's delay in investigating the Park Slope assault triggered an internal investigation. The 72nd had refused the neighbor's offer of the surveillance video and closed the case, re-opening it only after a female detective interviewed the victim.

The rapist struck again near Ridge Boulevard in Bay Ridge just before midnight on May 3, when he pulled a knife on a woman and tried to force her into a driveway. She broke free and he ran away.

The third assault happened near 55th Street in Sunset Park at 10:30 PM on May 29, when the rapist pushed a 22-year-old woman to the ground and tried to sexually assault her. She fought back and he fled.

The fourth assault also happened on 55th Street in Sunset Park, just before 3 AM on June 5, when the rapist followed a 28-year-old woman home from a Dunkin' Donuts and sexually assaulted her inside the vestibule of her apartment building.

That woman picked Bensonhurst livery cab driver William Giraldo out of a lineup. The three other victims failed to identify Giraldo. Giraldo, who appeared on surveillance video at Dunkin' Donuts, voluntarily came into the precinct for questioning, saying he drove a fare to JFK Airport after leaving the coffee shop. Police sources have told the Daily News they don't think his case will survive a grand jury.

A total of five attempted sexual assaults and one completed sexual assault have been attributed to the South Brooklyn rapist since this spring.  There may be more assaults that have either not been reported or that the NYPD has not yet connected up -- and there could be more than one perpetrator.

The article from Gothamist.

Earlier coverage from this blog.