Police arrested a 43-year-old man from Morningside Heights in connection to the attempted rape of a 21-year-old woman who was sunbathing in a secluded section of Central Park, officials said Wednesday.
The arrest came on the same day that the number of rapes in the city reached a five-year high, according to NYPD crime statistics.
Jermaine Longmire was arrested on other sex abuse crimes on June 26, two days after the alleged Central Park attack, according to Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, who spoke at a news conference on Wednesday.
Kenny said Longmire was charged with alleged sex abuse crimes in several other incidents dating back to 2023. While Longmire was held on bail, Kenny said Longmire’s DNA was tested and also found to be on the sunbather’s bikini bottoms.
Attempts to identify Longmire’s attorney were not immediately successful.
He pleaded not guilty to two felony sex crimes related to the alleged Central Park attack and not guilty to the previous misdemeanor sex abuse charges, officials said.
The attack in Central Park terrified several witnesses who called 911, officials said, prompting the NYPD to bring in numerous officers and detectives from multiple precincts and units, including Emergency Services Unit and K-9 bloodhounds.
“Detectives immediately fanned out to interview potential witnesses,” Kenny said at Wednesday’s press briefing. “Detectives were able to conduct a video canvas to follow this person to West 104th Street, where they were able to pull video from a commercial establishment.”
Kenny said police then used facial recognition to tie Longmire to two other alleged sexual assaults, where police accused him of groping women’s buttocks while riding the subway.
The arrest comes as rapes spike in the city, according to Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael LiPetri.
According to crime statistics released Wednesday, there were 136 rapes that occurred so far this year, a five-year high. An additional 39 rapes from previous years were also reported this year, also a five-year high, according to police statistics.
LiPetri did not explain attributing factors for the rise in rapes this year, only pointing to an increase in the number of people reporting past rapes. But statistics showed that both reported rapes – and alleged rapes – were at five-year highs so far this year.