SUNSET PARK — Police are renewing calls to help find an R train rider in Sunset Park who rubbed a 15-year-old girl's thigh and lower back before she exited the train.
The man boarded the northbound R train at Fourth Avenue and 36th Street on April 6 at about 7:50 a.m. and sat down next to the girl, police said.
He then began to rub her lower back and thigh, according to police. The girl got off the train at the DeKalb Avenue station, but the man followed her and continued to rub her back until she left the station, according to police.
Once she exited the station, she lost sight of him. Police on Thursday re-released photos of the suspect, described as a man in his 20s.
The New York City transit system has seen a surge in reports of subway sex crimes this year, NYPD Chief Joe Fox said earlier this week, as more women stepped forward to file reports and undercover officers targeted sexual predators.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged increased patrols in the subway system to combat the sexual offenses, which are overwhelmingly committed against women.
Victims of sexual misconduct in the transit system can anonymously report the crimes to the NYPD and the MTA through an online complaint portal.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
