THE BRONX — The man accused of brutally beating a 15-year-old girl in Bronx Park after she refused to comply with his sexual demands claimed not to know the victim, according to court papers.
"I don't know that girl," suspect Shaun Lewis told police, according to court documents. "My DNA will not be at the scene."
Lewis, 27, allegedly met his 15-year-old victim in the Gun Hill Road subway station around 4:40 a.m. on Oct. 24 and started walking with her toward Bronx Park, eventually taking out his penis, demanding that she touch it and repeatedly punching her and choking her when she refused, according to court documents and the NYPD.
The unidentified victim fell into the Bronx River at one point during the attack, and Lewis told her to come out of the water, but when she looked away and looked back, he had left, prosecutors said.
She sustained a broken jaw, missing teeth and multiple bruises during the attack, police said, and Lewis was indicted for the brutal assault in court on Tuesday.
He was also indicted for stealing a cellphone from a woman on April 21. The victim lost consciousness while he was robbing her, prosecutors said. That woman was found with her pants and underwear pulled down, according to court documents and the Bronx District Attorney's Office.
Lewis confessed to the robbery crime on Oct. 29, one day after he was arrested for attacking the 15-year-old, according to court papers.
"I would plead guilty," he told police. "Y'all got my DNA, and she said I did it. What more do you want from me?"
He told police he felt sorry about the April 21 robbery and did not know why he did it.
"Sometimes I black out," he said.
However, Lewis also appeared to slightly walk back his confession at one point, telling police, "If it was me, I do need help."
Lewis was out on parole during both attacks after he had served time for a robbery where he beat a woman, according to the Bronx DA's Office.
He was ordered held without bail and is due back in court on March 7, and he faces up to 25 years in prison for the top count in each attack, the Bronx DA's Office said.
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a statement that the 15-year-old victim "fought very hard against her attacker, and we will fight just as hard to get justice for her and for the second victim."
