By Nina Mandell
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — A man accused of raping a Russian tourist believes he's a romantic ladies' man.
Hugues-Denver Akassy told the New York Post he took the woman on a romantic date, they shared cheese and wine and then had consensual sex in Riverside Park.
“We made love,” Akassy said in a jailhouse interview.
But the police don't see it that way. They charged him with rape, as well as trespassing for sleeping on cardboard outside a woman’s bathroom, according to the Post.
Akassy met the alleged victim at the Time Warner Center where he convinced her to go on a date. After dinner on Tuesday, he suggested the two go for a stroll in Riverside Park, where he allegedly raped her.
He told the Post that as his date was running away in horror, he was holding a cab for her.
"Hold on. I'm waiting for a friend," he reportedly told the unsuspecting cab driver.
On Friday, police said they believe Akassy has attacked other women and asked for victims to come forward.
Tuesday's attack is the latest in a series of brutal incidents in Riverside Park. Police are still searching for a man who mugged two women in June in broad daylight.
