Monday, June 27, 2011

Alleged Sara D. Roosevelt Park Rapist Freed on Bail

Yeison Riano is charged with rape for allegedly attacking a drunk woman inside Sara D. Roosevelt Park last Thursday. The alleged rapist left the woman half-naked on a park bench and also robbed her purse. The DA's office had requested the bail be set at $40,000, but the judge decided on the lower amount.


Manhattan


A Queens man was allowed to go free on $10,000 bail after allegedly raping and robbing a woman during an early-morning attack inside a Lower East Side park, authorities said, according to DNAinfo.


The incident occurred inside Sara D. Roosevelt Park along Forsyth Street just below Houston Street about 2:15 a.m. on Thursday, June 23, according to the criminal complaint.


Yeison Riano, 31, of Queens, approached the 41-year-old victim inside the park and attempted to kiss her several times before she pushed him away, the complaint said.


The woman, who was apparently intoxicated at the time of the attack, tried to escape, but Riano allegedly grabbed her and forced her onto a park bench to rape her, the complaint said.


The alleged victim was apparently drunk at the time with a strong odor of alcohol on her breath and had trouble walking and standing up, authorities added.


After the attack, Riano allegedly removed his shirt to wipe himself and then snatched the woman's purse, the complaint said.


She was found with her pants and underwear around her ankles, and police discovered what appeared to semen near where she was laying, according to the complaint.


The woman told EMTs who responded to the scene that she did not know Riano and did not consent to sex with him, authorities added.


She was treated at Beth Israel after the incident, police said.


The incident occurred only hours after spectators packed the park for a high-profile charity soccer match.


Riano was charged with rape, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's office.


He was released Saturday on $10,000 bail, according to Department of Correction records. The DA's office had requested the bail be set at $40,000, but the judge decided on the lower amount.


Riano is due back in court on Wednesday.


"If it wasn't for a very observant police officer, who knows if we would have caught this guy," said Geoffrey Croft, of NYC Park Advocates, a non-profit park watchdog group, which publcized the attack.


"People should be able to arrive safely from their destinations when using any of our public parks."


The alleged assault is the latest in a string of recent rapes and sexual assaults across the borough, including some in city parks.


Several women have been attacked in recent weeks across the west side of Manhattan, sparking a wave of fear there.


Those suspects remain at large.


Read More:

DNAinfo - June 27, 2011 - By Patrick Hedlund

A Walk In The Park - June 26, 2011 - By Geoffrey Croft

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