The depraved sicko who raped a 73-year-old birdwatcher in Central Park before groping two other Upper West Side women on the same day last year pleaded guilty Tuesday in Manhattan.
David Mitchell, 43, copped to rape, robbery and possession of a weapon in exchange for 30 years behind bars in Manhattan Supreme Court.
He admitted to brutally attacking an elderly woman in broad daylight and leaving her bloodied and with two black eyes on a mulch path near Strawberry Fields on Sept 12, 2012.
“Did you at that time rob her, steal property from her and in the course of such a robbery was that crime motivated in part or in whole by your own sexual gratification?” Justice Bonnie Wittner asked Mitchell.
“Yeah,” he answered, wearing an orange jumpsuit and sporting a scruffy beard. Both of Mitchell’s forearms are covered in tattoos.
The deranged deviant approached his defenseless victim from behind and smashed her head against the ground at around 11:30 am. He sodomized, beat and choked her before also swiping her camera. The weapons rap stems from an incident a month earlier when Mitchell pulled a knife on man in Central Park during a dispute.
The tattooed transient from West Virginia has an IQ below 70.
In 1989, Mitchell was on trial for the rape and murder of an 87-year-old. He was acquitted of the crime but spent time locked up for other horrific assaults until his arrest in Manhattan.
“David Mitchell is a predator who targets the elderly, taking advantage of his victims’ age and size,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. “It was this very woman’s strength in assisting police and prosecutors that led to Mitchell’s apprehension and conviction.”
Mitchell returns to court Oct. 16 for sentencing.