NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Two men were arrested on attempted rape and other charges in a series of sex attacks at Riverside Park on the Upper West Side this week, police said Friday.
NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig credited a trail of video evidence and the collaboration between NYPD units with helping to nab the two suspects, whose alleged crimes are not connected.
"This is a highly unusual case to have two separate stranger attempted rapes in a particular location," Essig said. "Our Special Victims Unit detectives did such a great job. Within 12 hours, we had one in custody, and in less than 48 hours you had the other perp in custody. So kudos to them for taking these two serious predators off the street."
The first attack was at 4:40 p.m. Tuesday, when a woman was sexually assaulted by a man in the park between W. 79th and W. 80th streets.
He grabbed her breasts and made explicit comments before fleeing on a bicycle.
Hours later at 10 p.m. Tuesday, a woman was jogging on the bike path in the park at W. 89th Street when she was grabbed from behind by a man who pulled down her shorts and made explicit comments, police said.
She screamed, causing the attacker to flee on a bicycle.
Then on Thursday morning, a woman was walking in the park at W. 59th Street around 4 a.m. when a man tackled her. When she attempted to call police, he snatched her phone and fled with it. She was able to grab his chain during the struggle, police said.
At first, police believed the attacks were the work of one man given their similarity and location, but video evidence and descriptions from the victims revealed there were two men.
The suspect in Thursday morning's attack was arrested just hours later at 2:30 p.m. that day. During an interrogation, he made incriminating statements, including about leaving his chain at the scene, police said.
A search warrant was conducted at his home, where detectives recovered the victim's phone and a red shirt the suspect was wearing during the attack, according to police, who said the victim identified him during a lineup.
Luc Tatchiem Noubissi, 39, was charged with first-degree attempted rape, third-degree robbery, first-degree sex abuse and third-degree assault. He has no prior arrests.
Hours after Noubissi's arrest, police tracked video from Tuesday's attack at W. 89th Street to an apartment building at 511 W. 125th St. in Harlem, where that suspect was seen entering and going to the fourth floor.
His description fit that of the man who fled on the bicycle in both Tuesday attacks, police said. He was taken into custody, with police recovering evidence that included the bicycle and a red jersey with the #40 allegedly worn by the attacker.
He incriminated himself as the man in Tuesday's attacks as well as in a forcible touching incident from June 25 at W. 111th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, just south of Columbia University, police said.
All three victims identified Jhonathan Cortes-Lopez, 21, in a lineup. He was charged with first-degree attempted rape, first-degree sex abuse, third-degree assault and three counts of forcible touching.
Like the other suspect, he has no prior arrests, police said.
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