A boyfriend from hell was arrested for forcing his girlfriend to parade naked on a frigid Harlem street as he recorded the humiliating display — which he later posted online, police sources said Thursday.
Jason Melo, 24, punched the 22-year-old woman in the face and threatened to throw her down a flight of stairs and hit her with a Buddha statue as they were arguing at their West 142nd Street apartment at about 5 a.m. Sunday, prosecutors said.
The alleged abuse took place in front of the couple’s 3-month-old daughter.
Melo then publicly shamed the woman, ordering her to walk out onto the street wearing nothing but a towel, prosecutors allege. He threatened to kill her if she refused, according to police sources.
Outside in the 24-degree weather, Melo ripped the towel away from her and made her walk down the street as he recorded the mortified woman on his cellphone, the video shows.
She repeatedly tried to hide herself from the camera, the video shows — and a pedestrian doesn’t appear to see the naked woman.
The woman reported the crime on Monday and Melo turned himself in Wednesday.
At his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court late Thursday, Melo amazingly claimed through his lawyer that the girlfriend really hadn’t minded marching down the street in the buff.
“When the towel dropped, the lady calmly walked down the street laughing,” lawyer Andres Aranda told Judge Guy Mitchell.
Melo was ordered held in lieu of $7,500 cash bail on charges of assault, menacing and endangering the welfare of a child.
Prosecutors said he has an open drug-felony case in Massachusetts.
The woman was left with bruises and facial swelling, police sources said.
“The video displayed verbal abuse, forced humiliation and harassment by the alleged offender, directed at his wife,” First Lady Chirlane McCray said in a statement released by the Mayor’s Office.
“Posting that video online perpetuated the abuse, which New York City does not tolerate. We are steadfast in our efforts to make sure all victims of abuse are aware of the many resources available as we strive to make New York City’s public and private spaces safe for all women and girls.”
Additional reporting by Frank Rosario