Who is Chris Tapia? NYPD arrests man who tried to rape woman in moving subway car
TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains information about sexual assault that could be traumatic for some readers. Discretion is advised.
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: A man who attempted to rape a woman on a moving subway train in Lower Manhattan last week has now been arrested. According to the New York City Police Department, the accused removed his pants and underwear before getting on top of the woman.
Chris Tapia, 23, is accused of rape, sexual abuse, forcible touching, and public lewdness. According to police, the 24-year-old woman was on a moving northbound '4' train at 11.25 pm last Thursday, November 17 when Chris sat next to her. According to the NYPD, Tapia removed his pants and underwear and forced himself on the woman.
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Who is Chris Tapia?
The Staten Island man was earlier described as a man with a medium complexion, with dyed blonde hair and a right brow piercing, as reported by Fox News 5.
According to authorities, Tapia touched the woman and desperately tried to pull her skirt down before she made it safely to another train car. According to sources, the man got off at the Bowling Green subway station in Manhattan's Financial District and took a ferry to Staten Island.
It was unclear whether Tapia has retained an attorney. Anyone with information on the event is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477.
The assault comes amid a recent surge in violence on New York City subways. Earlier last week, an unprovoked attack on an L train heading into Manhattan's 14th Street Union Square station injured a woman and a good samaritan who tried to help her.
According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention national survey on intimate partner and sexual violence, more than 18% of women (or approximately 785,000 NYC women) have been raped in their lifetime, and 1.1% have been raped in the last year. This means an estimated 50,000 women are raped in New York City each year (excluding other types of sexual abuse), and yet only about 1,500 are reported to the police. The rape crisis centers in New York City see approximately 14,000 survivors annually.
The overall index crime rate in New York City increased by 26% in August 2022 compared to August 2021 (11,357 v 9,014). Five of the seven major index-crime categories witnessed rises, driven by a 38% increase in robbery (1,630 v 1,181), a 34.7% increase in grand larceny (4,687 v 3,480), and a 31.1% rise in burglary (1,356 v 1,034), as reported by New York City Police Department.