UNION SQUARE — A homeless man ried to rape a woman on a sidewalk in Union Square before passersby intervened, police said.
Nelis Calix, 39, was arrested early Sunday after witnesses saw him trying to rape a 23-year-old woman on a sidewalk at the northwest corner of Union Square Park at about 1:45 a.m., police said.
Witnesses told police they saw Calix with his pants down, standing over the woman, who also had her pants down and who was repeatedly saying “no,” according to a police spokesman.
Calix tried to flee but officers grabbed him minutes later, police said. The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment.
Calix was charged with attempted rape, and a judge ordered him held on $50,000 bail, records show. He is due back in court on Friday. Police said he is homeless.
The attacker has an extensive criminal record, including a Sept. 16 arrest for public lewdness, an arrest for forcible touching in 2008, and an arrest for sexual abuse in 2002, a police spokesman said. He also has a history of giving police false names, the spokesman added.
“He’s got like five different names, but thankfully fingerprints don’t change,” the spokesman said.
Calix’s attorney was not immediately available for comment.
