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Rapist Surrenders as Second Victim Comes Forward, Police Say

By Aidan Gardiner | November 30, 2015 8:34am
 Eric Niles dragged a jogger to the East River Park Amphitheater and raped her, police said.
Eric Niles dragged a jogger to the East River Park Amphitheater and raped her, police said.
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NYPD and New York City Department of Parks and Recreation

MANHATTAN — A man surrendered to police Saturday, three days after he groped one woman in the East River Park and then dragged a jogger by the hair to an amphitheater and raped her, police said.

Eric Niles, 28, first tried to strike up a conversation with a 56-year-old woman about 6:45 p.m. on Nov. 28 near Grand Street and FDR Drive, but then groped her and fled on a bike, NYPD officials said.

Niles then rode south to Cherry Street where he spotted a 26-year-old woman out running about 7:30 p.m., NYPD officials said.

He motioned for her to be quiet so she turned and tried to run away from him, but he came up behind her and grabbed her hair, put his arm around her throat and pulled her to the amphitheater, where he raped her, police said.

She was treated at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and later released, police said.

Niles fled the scene but later tried to use the jogger's credit card at a bodega, where his image was captured by a security camera, police said.

He surrendered to police on Saturday and was arrested on charges of rape, robbery, identity theft and forcible touching, police said.

He's been arrested four times this year, police said.

He was arrested and charged with possessing drugs in June and stolen property in July, burglary in August and endangering a child in October, an NYPD spokesman said.