UPDATED July 24, 9:35 a.m.
Police have taken a 30-year-old man into custody for allegedly sexually assaulting two women at knifepoint on back-to-back evenings inside of Flushing‘s Kissena Corridor Park this week.
Law enforcement agents identified him as Charles Tobin, 29, of Kissena Boulevard in Flushing. He faces first-degree charges of rape, robbery and criminal sexual act, as well as criminal possession of a weapon.
The NYPD initially reported on July 20 that the suspect attacked a 17-year-old girl as she was walking through the park on July 19. Upon further investigation, however, police learned that a second victim — a 32-year-old woman — was similarly assaulted the night before, July 18.
Regarding the July 18 incident, police said that the victim was walking through Kissena Corridor Park at about 11 p.m. when she was allegedly approached by Tobin, who displayed a knife and demanded money. After the woman removed $50 in cash from her pocketbook and handed it to him, authorities said, the suspect then led the victim into a secluded area, where he forced her to perform a sex act, then raped her.
After the assault ended, authorities said, Tobin allegedly left the park in an unknown direction. The woman went on her own to Bellevue Hospital for treatment of her injuries, and the incident was reported to the 109th Precinct.
The following evening, law enforcement sources said, Tobin allegedly confronted the 17-year-old victim as she walked through the park in the area of Main Street and 56th Avenue at 10:30 p.m. He displayed a knife, then led the victim to a wooded area of the park, where he forced her to perform an undisclosed sexual act on him. Moments later, he fled the scene on a pedestrian path to parts unknown.
Authorities said the victim went to a local hospital for treatment, and the sexual assault was reported to police.
During his arraignment hearing on Saturday morning, July 22, Tobin was ordered held without bail, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. The suspect is due back in court on Aug. 4; if convicted of the charges, he faces up to 50 years to life in prison.
