A parolee who spent nearly two decades in prison for raping a young girl in Brooklyn was arrested in Queens Thursday on public lewdness and sex abuse charges.
Police arrested John Garrison, 53, for going on a self-gratifying crime spree this month in two Queens neighborhoods during which he allegedly pleasured himself and sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl. The crime spree occurred months after he was released from prison on parole.
In 2007, Garrison was arrested for raping a 13-year-old girl in an alley in East Flatbush. He was convicted and served 18 years behind bars until released from prison on Jan. 16, 2025.
But police sources said Garrison allegedly began a disturbing pattern of behavior on March 17 in Woodhaven.
On that date, law enforcement sources said, he allegedly masturbated in front of a 51-year-old woman as she sat in her car near the corner of 91st Street and 86th Avenue.
Cops said Garrison allegedly next struck again in Woodhaven on March 19 at around 2:55 p.m. — following a 10-year-old girl as she walked home from her school to her home. He allegedly grabbed the girl’s chest from behind, causing her to scream.
“Shut up or I will kill you,” he allegedly told the girl before fleeing, according to police.
Less than an hour later, police sources said, Garrison allegedly masturbated near the front window of Lina’s Hair Spa at 87-08 97th St. at around 3:30 p.m.
Two more incidents tied to Garrison occurred the next day, on March 20, in Richmond Hill.
Police said a 23-year-old woman allegedly spotted Garrison yelling outside her window with his genitalia exposed. He made a run for it after being spotted.
Officers from the 102nd Precinct caught up to Garrison 30 minutes later near the corner of Jamaica Avenue and 104th Street — where they spotted him with his pants down around his ankles. When cops attempted to take him into custody, police say he flailed his arms and legs and resisted arrest.
Garrison has been charged with four counts of public lewdness, sex abuse, forcible touching, and resisting arrest.
Police sources reported that Garrison has six prior arrests for similar sex crimes. In 2004, he was cuffed for a Brooklyn attack in which he demanded a 30-year-old woman give him oral sex and told the victim he had a gun.
Thirty years ago, in 1995, he was arrested for exposing himself to and fondling a woman.
Police escorted Garrison out of the 102nd Precinct in handcuffs Thursday night following his arrest. He refused to answer reporters’ questions about the case.
