Rape victim escapes on NYC subway platform after suspect exposes herself and punches her

A woman managed to defend herself against a stranger who exposed himself to her on a New York City subway before he beat her, pinned her to the ground and attempted to rape her.

Police are still looking for the suspect who attacked the 29-year-old woman just after 9 p.m. Friday at Chambers Street tube station near City Hall.

The belt hanger was heading south from the J train when her attacker pulled her back into the subway and exposed herself to her, police said.

The unhinged man tried to force the woman to have oral sex with him, then beat her and pinned her to the ground.

Police said the suspect tried to take her clothes off, tearing her jacket as she fought back. He then got hold of her cell phone, which he threw away during the struggle.

The woman broke free and fled from the subway just before the doors closed. The man remained on the train heading south.

She was taken to hospital by EMS, who had been on the scene and treated her injuries.

During the struggle, the attacker also snatched the woman’s wallet and keys. He took out $60 in cash from the wallet before dumping it.

Police released surveillance photos and enlisted the public’s help to identify and arrest the suspect.

He is described as a dark-skinned male between the ages of 30 and 40, approximately 5-foot-6-inch or 5-foot-7-inch and was last seen wearing a navy hooded sweatshirt and pants, black and white sneakers, and a white face mask.

The man was seen in photos with a green-gray backpack.

Police are asking anyone with information about this incident to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477.

Crime on New York’s subways has fallen since the new mayor of the Big Apple, Eric Adams, took a sober approach.

Subway drivers now regularly make announcements at stops to warn passengers of officers stationed at the platforms should they need assistance.

But violent attacks have been slightly more common on the subway than before the pandemic, with 132 in the first quarter of 2023 compared to 110 in the first quarter of 2020, city data shows.

Theft and grand larceny, the other most common forms of major metro crime, declined over the same period.

But the data doesn’t show how often the attackers or victims are homeless, Reuters reported in March. Subway crimes are reported more than overhead incidents, he said, because there are usually more witnesses.

There is still a debate over whether a former US Marine had the right to strangle an agitated homeless person on a subway train last month.

The altercation of May 1 took place then 30-year-old Jordan Neely got on the train, threw down his jacket and screamed that he was hungry and ready to die.

A video showed former Marine Daniel Penny, 24, with Neely in a chokehold on the floor of the train for more than three minutes.

Penny is white and Neely was black, and the incident sparked protests against what some characterized as an act of “white vigilance.”

Two weeks later, Penny was charged with manslaughter. His lawyers claimed the Long Island resident acted in self-defense after being threatened by Neely. If convicted, Penny could face up to 15 years in prison.

Also last month, a horrific attack saw a woman shoved onto a moving subway, leaving her with a broken neck and spine.

Kamal Samrade, 39, of Queens has since been charged with attempted murder and assault in connection with the attack on 35-year-old Emine Ozsoy, who was thrown onto a train departing Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street station on May 21.

Ozsoy was on her way to work when she was attacked and had her spine broken and her face cut to the bone. There is a chance that she will no longer be able to walk.

A witness said the suspect did not look homeless or dirty. She says the attack left her traumatized.

The NYPD revealed that twenty-five people were pushed onto New York City subway rails in 2022, killing at least two people while others narrowly escaped death.

One such attack was that of David Martin, 32, who was walking through the Wyckoff and Myrtle Avenue subway station in Brooklyn when Lamale McRae, 41, randomly charged across the platform and slammed him into the rails.

The attack was captured in a haunting video that showed McRae – a career criminal who had spent 20 years in prison for attempted murder – calmly putting his bag on the subway before throwing himself after Martin and then fleeing.

Figures from the New York City Police Department obtained by DailyMail.com showed that more subways were pushed in 2022 than in all of 2021.

Manhattan saw at least six shoves — including both fatalities. The Bronx and Brooklyn each saw pushes at least three times, and Queens saw one.

Crime in the New York City subway is up 30 percent by 2022. Multiple anti-crime initiatives were spurred by the escalating violence on a vital transit network.

Mayor Eric Adams has expanded transit police presence, spending $20 million more per month on overtime costs since January, according to Bloomberg.