A Queens Village man was arrested and charged at the 107th Precinct in Fresh Meadows following allegations that he groped a woman aboard an MTA Q43 bus near Francis Lewis Boulevard.
Authorities say the suspect then followed the victim to Woodhaven, where he allegedly assaulted her a second time.
Dev Prejapati, 22, of Hillside Avenue, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Dec. 12 on a complaint charging him with forcible touching and sexual abuse.
The 28-year-old victim’s ordeal occurred on the night of Tuesday, Nov. 19, as she was riding a Q43 MTA bus that was approaching Hillside Avenue and 207th Street when Prejapati approached her for the first time at 7:40 p.m. and touched her breast and inner thigh over her clothing at which time she pushed his hand away, according to a detective from the Queens Special Victims Unit.
The woman got off the bus and entered the Sutphin Boulevard–Archer Avenue–JFK Airport station in Downtown Jamaica, more than five miles from where the initial incident occurred, according to the Queens SVU detective.
According to the criminal complaint, Prejapati followed her on the subway until she was exiting the train at the 75th Street–Elderts Lane subway station nearly four miles away and slapped her on the rear end. The victim was not injured during the incidents, police said.
Queens Criminal Court Judge Rachel Friers ordered Prejapati to return to court on Feb. 3.
