Monster Migrant Charged in Raping Girl

Prosecutors Charge Migrant in Rape of Girl, Kidnapping 

Prosecutors have charged an Ecuadoran migrant in the rape of a 13-year-old girl in Queens. -Photo by NYPD

By Dan Gesslein 

Queens Voice 

June 19, 2024 

Follow @Bronxvoice1

QUEENS - An illegal migrant has been charged with raping a 13-year-old girl and kidnapping her and her friend at knifepoint inside a Queens park in broad daylight. The suspect is facing up to 25 years to life in prison for a crime that shocked the nation.

 

Ecuadoran migrant Christian Inga, 25, was charged inside a Queens courtroom today in connection with the June 13 sexual assault inside Kissena Park in Flushing. 

Inga was charged with first degree rape, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, predatory sexual assault as well as two counts of robbery and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

“This attack on two children in broad daylight in a city park strikes the very core of our society,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “According to the complaint, this defendant confronted the boy and girl, tied the children to one another, gagged them and then raped the girl before fleeing the park. 

“Thank you to the brave victims for coming forward and the NYPD for its quick action in apprehending the defendant who will now face justice in our courts,” Katz said.

According to the complaint, at around 3:30 pm on June 13, the boy and girl, both age 13, were inside Kissing Park when Inga approached. The complaint said the suspect pulled out a “long-bladed knife or a machete.” 

The knife-wielding man forced the children into a wooded area of the park where he tied them with shoelaces and gagged them with pieces of cloth. Prosecutors said Inga then raped the girl. 

Before fleeing the park he stole both of the teens’ cellphones. 

The case drew national headlines as a manhunt was underway to find the attacker. 

On Tuesday, residents of one Queens community recognized Inga from the released surveillance video and sketches of a tattoo. The group beat and bound Inga and held him for police. 

Inga’s next court date is July 1.