This Wednesday, a man was walking with his young stepdaughter in the Bronx when another man attempted to grab the girl. While the suspect ran away, he was later apprehended by the NYPD.
Police identified the suspect as 52-year-old Juan Rivera in a statement emailed to Audacy.
At around 4:15 p.m., Rivera allegedly approached the stepfather and the 8-year-old in the vicinity of Fox Street and Avenue St. John. Authorities said the girl was not injured.
According to the New York Post, Rivera is a convicted murderer who was released on parole in August. NYPD did not confirm the arrestee’s criminal history.
Per the Post, Rivera was last arrested in March 2003 after shooting a 33-year-old man in the Bronx and state correction records show that he was convicted of second-degree murder with a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. The report also said he was held at Franklin Correctional Facility in Malone, N.Y., from 2005 to when he was paroled Aug. 25.
Police sources cited by the New York Post also said Rivera was arrested for attempted murder on Oct. 25, 1993 and correction records show he was held in the Altona Correctional Facility from May 1995 through September 2001 for burglary and weapon possession.
According to a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that covered the 10-year period between 2005 and 2014, there were more than 8,000 attempted abductions or related incidents during that period and 96% of perpetrators were male.
“Children got away from offenders in a variety of ways, including ignoring or refusing them, using their cell phones to threaten intervention, fighting, screaming/making noise, child or adult intervention and, ultimately, by the offender or child leaving the area or the child being voluntarily released,” said the report. “Of these ways, screaming/making noise was the only child behavior that increased the likelihood of an offender’s arrest because it specifically increased the chances of adult intervention.”
In August, KRLD reported that a “quick-thinking mother” was able to foil a brazen kidnapping attempt in North Richland Hills, Texas.
“He never said anything. He didn’t talk,” said Abraham Perez, the stepfather who managed to protect his stepdaughter from Rivera in the Bronx this week, according to the Post. “Never said one single thing.”
Perez is a 38-year-old restaurant worker who walking the girl to buy snacks at the store after she was done with her classes at Girls Preparatory Charter School, said the outlet. He noticed the man coming towards them and tried to move. However, the man would not let them pass.
“He looked at my eyes. He looked very scary, very dangerous,” Perez said. “I tried to move but he kept walking straight towards me. He didn’t want to let us pass.”
As they tried to get away from the man, the girl began screaming and crying, Perez added.
“I don’t know if my daughter will ever be the same for the rest of her life,” he said. “Now my stepdaughter doesn’t even want to go outside, she’s afraid.”
Rivera said “I f***ed up,” when caught, per police sources cited by the Post.
“The perpetrator was arrested and removed to Lincoln Hospital for psychological evaluation,” the NYPD told Audacy. Police said Rivera was charged with kidnapping, unlawful Imprisonment and harassment.
Related
Related
