TRAIL OF TERROR: The victim’s belongings, including her bag, lie strewn around Hudson River Park, where she was sexually assaulted. (Umar Abbasi)
TRAIL OF TERROR: The victim’s belongings, including her bag, lie strewn around Hudson River Park, where she was sexually assaulted. (
)
A young woman waiting to watch the sun rise in a TriBeCa park was yanked off a bench, beaten and raped yesterday during a prolonged attack by a “savage” sex fiend, police sources said.
Jonathan Stewart, 25, allegedly dragged the 21-year-old woman 10 feet into the bushes in Hudson River Park near Harrison Street at about 5:15 a.m., punching and attempting to strangle her before the vile assault.
After the woman bravely fought off her attacker, she ran completely naked toward two Parks Department cops and screamed, “I’ve just been raped! I’ve just been raped!” sources said.
One employee stayed with the woman and covered her with a blanket while the other chased after the suspect, the sources said.
The alleged attacker had fled on foot with no shirt and his pants down. He was arrested nearby and charged with rape and assault.
The woman’s belongings — including a smartphone, purse, beige wedge heels, undergarments and an orange cellphone case — were found strewn along the waterfront.
The victim, who lives in the area, had been at a local bar the night before and often goes to that spot around sunrise, a law-enforcement source said.
She told cops she was having personal problems and went to the park to clear her head.
Stewart, a registered sex offender who is homeless, sidled up to her, trying to strike up a conversation, cops said.
But the woman spurned him, so he allegedly pounced on her and “brutally raped her for some time,” a law-enforcement source said.
The Parks cops whom the victim flagged down radioed a description of Stewart, who had jumped over a fence into a playground and ran into construction area.
NYPD cops eventually found Stewart hiding in bushes in a nearby median.
The victim later identified Stewart as her attacker by looking at him through an ambulance window, sources said. She was then taken to a hospital in stable condition.
Stewart lashed out at police and flailed like a maniac in his jail cell at the First Precinct station house. “He’s a savage. He looks like an animal,” a law-enforcement source said.
“He was going nuts in his cell. He was smashing his head against the wall and screaming and yelling at police officers.”
Stewart has a record of vicious crimes. He was paroled in July after serving seven years in state prison on a robbery and sex-abuse conviction from 2004. A police source said he raped a young female relative.
The attack — at least the fourth in a city park this month — comes 10 days after a 73-year-old bird-watcher was raped near Strawberry Fields in Central Park.
New Yorkers were sickened by the latest attack.
“It’s horrible what happened. It’s not her fault. Anyone should be able to come to the park at any time. It’s scary,” said Kim Davis, 38, of the West Village.
Jackie Williams, 21, a college student, said: “That’s crazy. You never know what can happen after it gets dark out.”
Diane Fox, 52, said, “We can’t enjoy Central Park; we can’t enjoy Hudson River Park — what’s left to enjoy?
“I moved here 34 years ago, and everything’s changing. The mayor should stop worrying about sugary drinks and start worrying about our freedoms. This is my community, this is my neighborhood, and I can’t go for a walk or watch the sunset?”
“The first woman was elderly, and you would think they would leave her alone,” she said. “Now a 21-year-old? I need to buy Mace.”