Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Alleged Hudson River Park Attacker Raped Victim Twice, DA Says

By Irene Plagianos | September 26, 2012 2:32pm | Updated on September 27, 2012 10:35am

MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — The homeless registered sex offender accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the Hudson River Greenway near Harrison street actually raped the young victim twice, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Jonathan Stewart, 25, attacked his 21-year-old victim after striking up a conversation with her on a park bench early Saturday morning, prosecutors said.

Assistant district attorney Alyssa Gunther said Stewart, a convicted felon, "put a choke hold" on the woman and dragged her to a nearby area before raping her.

The young woman was then able to break free, but, Gunther said, "she wasn't able to get far before he caught her." Stewart chased down his victim, punched and strangled her, then raped her again, Gunther said.