NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A 53-year-old man faces a long list of charges after prosecutors say he sexually abused and threatened to kill a 10-year-old girl as she walked in broad daylight in Queens last week.
John Garrison, of Queens, was arraigned Sunday on a five-count complaint charging him with sexual abuse in the first degree, forcible touching, resisting arrest, endangering the welfare of a child, and public lewdness.
He's a convicted rapist who was out on parole after spending nearly two decades in prison for child rape, WABC-TV reported.
He was arrested last Thursday after he allegedly pulled down his pants and exposed himself to people at 104th Street and Jamaica Avenue in Richmond Hill around 12:30 p.m.
Police linked him to the attack on the girl the previous day, Queens D.A. Melinda Katz said Tuesday.
“As alleged, the defendant terrorized and sexually assaulted a child as she walked down the street in the middle of the afternoon,” Katz said in a statement.
“Just one day later, a member of the NYPD allegedly observed the defendant exposing himself in Richmond Hill,” Katz continued.
The girl was walking down 87th Road in Woodhaven around 2:55 p.m. Wednesday when Garrison followed her, prosecutors said. When she screamed, he allegedly told her, “Sit down, shut up or I will kill you.”
The girl walked up to a house to escape him, but he followed her up the stairs, grabbed her breast and squeezed it, according to the complaint. She pushed him away, and he fled.
During his arrest the next day, he allegedly flailed his arms and kicked his legs to avoid being handcuffed by the officer.
He’s scheduled to return to court March 25 and was remanded to jail on this case and an open parole warrant, prosecutors said.
He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.