QUEENS — Police arrested a man who they say stabbed a straphanger in his butt several times while he was waiting with his 13-year-old daughter on subway platforms in Forest Hills and Kew Gardens in December.
Matthew Jacobs, 26, of St. Albans, was arrested on Jan. 12, as first reported by the Daily News, and faces charges of assault, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal possession of a weapon and harassment, authorities said Wednesday.
According to the criminal complaint, the 42-year-old victim was on the Queens-bound R train with his daughter when they first noticed Jacobs who was on the same train.
They were later waiting for a Jamaica-bound F train at the 71st/Continental Avenue station in Forest Hills at roughly 7:10 p.m. on Dec. 20 when Jacobs bumped into the man from behind with an unknown hard object, “causing substantial pain,” according to court documents.
The suspect also pushed the victim into another passenger and then bumped him again as he was boarding the train and twice more when he got off at the Union Turnpike-Kew Gardens station, according to the NYPD.
Jacobs also pushed the victim into a platform pillar, and then followed him and his daughter through the turnstiles, but later returned to the station, according to the criminal complaint.
The victim later told investigators that he was not aware of being stabbed until he returned home and saw blood on his pants, police said.
He then discovered three puncture wounds to his left buttock and one to his right buttock, each of them about half an inch wide, police said.
The man was taken to Forest Hills Hospital, where he was treated and released, police said.
Jacobs has at least five prior arrests, all dating back to 2014, including for petit larceny, criminal possession of a weapon, resisting arrest and criminal possession of marijuana, police said.
He's being held on $30,000 bail and is due back in court on Feb. 8, officials said.
Jacobs' attorney did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
