Woman sexually assaulted inside 95th Street Station bathroom; police seek suspect

BAY RIDGE — A woman was sexually assaulted after getting off the R train at the 95th Street station Monday morning.

According to authorities, on Monday, Jan. 27, the victim, who had boarded the southbound R train in Forest Hills, went into the station bathroom when she got off the train at the line’s final stop at around 10 a.m. Cops say the suspect, dressed in all black and wearing a black ski mask, followed her inside and punched her in the face, choked her and tried to assault her sexually. The woman screamed and the attacker took off.

City Councilmember Justin Brannan said on Facebook that a good Samaritan had come to the victim’s aid. “Looks like a good samaritan got involved & stopped it,” he wrote, adding “Once we have more details and/or photo/video footage of the suspect, I will share.”

The suspect is described as 5’ 10” in height and around 160 pounds. The investigation is active and ongoing.

Local elected officials responded to the news, with Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis contending that the assault “is indicative of the direction New York City is headed. This is why I wrote Gov. Cuomo last year asking for more police to patrol our subway system, and this is why neither an elected official or private citizen should stand in the way of the 500 officers he assigned to the job.”

Malliotakis also slammed bail reform, noting that the incident “is also a shocking reminder of the rise in crime over the course of this month that NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea has attributed to the new bail reform laws. Robberies, burglaries, shootings and car thefts are all up citywide and transit crimes like yesterday’s have almost doubled in Brooklyn South in the first few weeks of 2020 compared to last year. Commissioner Shea is right; bail reform has made New Yorkers less safe.”

However, State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who called the assault, “Absolutely terrible and extremely concerning,” stressed, “One important thing to note: We do not have the details, but all violent felonies are still bail-eligible. There is absolutely 0 difference in how such crimes are treated now vs. before the reforms were passed.”