Man charged with trying to rape Central Park sunbather: NYPD
MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) --- A man is accused of trying to rape a sunbather in Central Park last week, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
Jermaine Longmire, 43, was charged with attempted rape and sexual abuse Wednesday, police officials said Wednesday.
The man is suspected of exposing himself to a 21-year-old who was sunbathing in Great Hill near West Drive and West 104th Street around 1:35 p.m. on June 24, according to Kenny.
When she ran away, he tackled her from behind, and the young woman fought him off while screaming for help, police said. Prosecutors said the victim suffered numerous injuries all over her body.
“She fought back and she fought back hard,” Kenny said.
Detectives used DNA on the sunbather's bikini bottom to identify the suspected assailant, according to police officials. Authorities used facial recognition to connect the suspect to the attack, cops said.
The suspect was initially arrested for allegedly reaching under a woman's dress and grabbing her buttocks in a Brooklyn subway station on June 15 before investigators later linked him to the Central Park incident, authorities said.
Longmire is also accused of sexually assaulting two women in the transit system last year, police officials said. He has eight prior arrests.
He was arraigned Wednesday and is being held without bail.
Prosecutors said Longmire has arrests in Florida and Maryland. In Florida, he was charged with sexual assault, aggravated assault, battery, probation violation, failing to appear, theft, trespass, and contempt, authorities said.
He was convicted of aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony stemming from a 2017 incident, according to court records. Longmire was accused of trying to sexually assault a woman in a psychiatric facility in Florida, according to a report in the Ocala Star Banner. He was convicted of the attack in 2018, court records show.
Authorities said sexual assault cases are on the rise in New York City, particularly among domestic violence and acquaintance-related attacks.
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.