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Subway Pervert Escapes Police by Running Into Tunnel: NYPD

By Noah Hurowitz | February 11, 2016 1:47pm
 Laimant McDonald, 28, assaulted a woman on an uptown 6 train on Feb. 2, police said.
Laimant McDonald, 28, assaulted a woman on an uptown 6 train on Feb. 2, police said.
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Anton K. Nilsson/DNAinfo

MIDTOWN EAST — A repeat groper assaulted a woman on an uptown 6 train and ran off into a tunnel, evading police for days, according to a police report.

The victim told police she got on the crowded train with a friend at Grand Central-42nd Street at 5 p.m. Feb. 2 and Laimant McDonald, 28, followed her on, according to a report.

Using the packed car as cover, he repeatedly rubbed his crotch against her and continued to do so even as the woman tried to edge away from him, police said.

Not wanting to make a scene, the woman made eye contact with her friend to try to get someone’s attention and the pair notified police at the Lexington Avenue/51st Street station, according to a report. 

When officers moved in to arrest McDonald, he left the train, jumped onto the tracks and ran into the tunnel, police said.

Based on the victim’s description, officers identified McDonald who was known to them as a serial train predator, according to a police report.

Officers caught up with him two days later on Feb. 4 when they noticed him hanging out near the intersection of East 34th Street and Park Avenue South, police said.

Prosecutors charged McDonald with persistent sexual abuse, a felony, and he is being held at Manhattan Detention Complex in lieu of $30,000 bail, according to court records. His next court date is on March 17.

Police said McDonald was a repeat offender, though records show he had not spent time in prison for previous crimes. It was not immediately clear when past assaults took place.

A lawyer for McDonald did not respond to a request for comment.