An illegal immigrant Ecuadorian is in NYPD custody after a broad daylight sex attack in which police said a machete-wielding man approached two 13-year-olds, one a boy and one a girl, tied them together by the wrists and raped the girl at a popular park in Queens, according to sources.
Christian Geovanny Inga-Landi, a 25-year-old from Ecuador, entered the country illegally in 2021 near Eagle Pass, Texas, with his three-year-old child, NYPD leaders revealed during a news briefing Tuesday.
After police released surveillance video showing him near the scene of the crime, tips started pouring in, police said. Ultimately, a group of at least 10 neighbors swarmed him and held him until police arrived around 1 a.m. Tuesday.
“Everybody knew who we were looking for,” said Chief Joseph Kenny.
“We had tips coming in actually naming the perpetrator. They knew who he was. They saw him out on the street.”
“We saw from bodycam video at least 10 neighborhood people trying to do the right thing,” he added.
Inga-Landi was treated for minor injuries after police said he tried to fight the good Samaritans, who bound his legs with a belt to keep him from running away.
The attack happened Thursday at Kissena Park, about 3 miles from where the New York Mets play at Citi Field and near the site of the 1964 World’s Fair and the U.S. Open.
The victim also went to school in the neighborhood.
