A homeless man with a host of convictions has been arrested after a 20-year-old student was assaulted in an ‘unprovoked’ attack as she was walking to university.
James Rizzo, 45, was arrested on Tuesday following the incident which occurred in broad daylight in Lower Manhattan, New York City on Monday.
The homeless suspect has 16 previous convictions for a variety of offences against women, including sexual abuse and forcible touching.
Footage of the incident later emerged on social media, showing a man walking up behind Amelia Lewis, 20, before striking her from behind.
Footage of the incident later emerged showing a man walking up behind Amelia Lewis, 20, before striking her
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The New York University (NYU) student was seen falling to the ground before the man walked off.
According to the New York Police Department, Rizzo was linked to the assault after officers "caught him in the act" of committing a burglary in an apartment building.
He was also accused of committing four other burglaries in the same building on that day.
In connection with the attack on the 20-year-old student, he was charged with persistent sexual abuse, forcible touching, and assault.
The New York University (NYU) student was seen falling to the ground before the man walked off
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According to public correction records, the 45-year-old suspect was only released from prison in September after serving two years behind bars for persistent sexual abuse.
During the incident, Rizzo is alleged to have smacked Ms Lewis' buttocks, grabbing her hair and throwing her to the ground.
A group of women were seen helping her back to her feet shortly afterwards.
Describing the assault on social media, the NYU student said: "When I turned around, I saw this old guy and, like right when I turned around, he like grabbed my f****** hair like this and like yanked me and threw me to the ground.
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“I just really want to emphasise how not okay this is.
“I’m honestly still in shock, but I’m more enraged that things like this are able to happen in this city, and we really need to do something about it because this is unacceptable.”
Ms Lewis said the footage of the incident was captured on a surveillance camera, which was obtained from a friend of hers from a nearby shop.
She described the suspect as being a tall man with long brown hair and a long brown beard, wearing grey jogging bottoms, a black puffer jacket and a blue towel around his neck.
The 20-year-old later passed on the footage to NYU's security services
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The 20-year-old later passed on the footage to her university's security services, who later handed the video over to the police.
NYU spokesman John Beckman said: "The University is pleased that a suspect has been apprehended in the attack on one of its students that took place Monday morning on a Broadway sidewalk.
"We take this incident very seriously.
"We are continuing to offer support to the student, and our Campus Safety Department assisted the victim and worked with the police investigating the incident."
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