A convicted child rapist from Southeast Queens, who was paroled in January after serving 18 years in prison, is being held without bail after he was criminally charged with sexual abuse for assaulting and threatening to kill a 10-year-old girl he stalked in Woodhaven last week.
John Garrison, 53, of 224th Street in Cambria Heights, was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on Sunday on a five-count complaint charging him with sexual abuse in the first degree and other related crimes.
According to the charges and investigation, just before 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19, Garrison began following a 10 -10-year-old girl who was walking along 87th Road in Woodhaven. The child felt frightened and screamed, prompting Garrison to tell her to “Sit down, shut up, or I will kill you.”
In an attempt to get away from Garrison, the girl walked up a few steps of the house that she was in front of. Garrison followed her and allegedly grabbed her breast and squeezed it. She pushed him away, and Garrison fled the scene.
The next day, at approximately 12:30 p.m., Garrison was at the intersection of 104th Street and Jamaica Avenue in Richmond Hill when he pulled down his pants and exposed himself.
When a police officer from the 102nd Precinct in Richmond Hill placed Garrison under arrest, he flailed his arms and kicked his legs to avoid being handcuffed.
Garrison was charged with resisting arrest in addition to forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child, and public lewdness.
“As alleged, the defendant terrorized and sexually assaulted a child as she walked down the street in the middle of the afternoon,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “Just one day later, a member of the NYPD allegedly observed the defendant exposing himself in Richmond Hill.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Bruna DiBiase remanded Garrison into custody without bail on this case and on an open parole warrant. If convicted, Garrison faces up to seven years in prison.
“I thank the brave survivor and her family for working with my office and the NYPD as we work to secure justice in this case,” Katz said.
In 2007, Garrison was arrested for raping a 13-year-old girl in an alley in East Flatbush section of Brooklyn. He was convicted and served 18 years in prison until he was released parole on Jan. 16, 2025.
