A man was arraigned Wednesday on charges that he raped a 13-year-old girl after tying her and another teen up at knifepoint in a Queens park, prosecutors said.
Christian Inga, 25, of Corona, has been charged with crimes including first- and second-degree rape, second-degree kidnapping, predatory sexual assault and first-degree robbery in connection with the attack in Kissena Corridor Park, the Queens district attorney’s office said.
He is currently being held without bail, the DA’s office said. NY1 has reached out to his attorney for comment.
“This attack on two children in broad daylight in a city park strikes the very core of our society,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. “Thank you to the brave victims for coming forward and the NYPD for its quick action in apprehending the defendant who will now face justice in our courts.”
Prosecutors said Inga approached the 13-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy inside the park in Flushing around 3:30 p.m. on June 13.
Inga, who was holding a “long-bladed knife or machete,” forced the teens to follow him into a secluded area in the park, police and prosecutors said.
After he tied the teens’ wrists together with a shoelace, he gagged them with pieces of cloth, took their cellphones and raped the girl, according to police and prosecutors.
Inga was arrested early Tuesday morning after a group of neighborhood residents spotted him in Corona and detained him, NYPD officials said.
The teens were taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition after the attack, the NYPD said.
Inga, who is expected to appear in court again on July 1, faces up to 25 years to life in prison if he is convicted.