The predator who allegedly raped a teen on a Bronx park bench earlier this week was nabbed by eagle-eyed cops Friday.
Xavier Chapman, 30, had his private parts exposed as he stormed up to the 19-year-old victim – a stranger – as she sat on a bench at Park Avenue and East 183rd Street in Belmont around 3 a.m. Wednesday, cops and sources said.
He then pinned the victim down and forced himself on her, only fleeing when she screamed and pushed him away, sources said.
The next day, the NYPD released footage of the suspect walking on the sidewalk, wearing all black with his hood pulled up.
The video ultimately proved useful when members of the NYPD’s Warrants section were able to track Chapman down through an “extensive video canvas,” sources said.
He was charged with rape, sexual abuse and harassment, police said.
Chapman has one prior arrest: for a lewd act that involved him exposing and pleasuring himself at the front door of a Bronx man’s apartment April 20, according to a criminal complaint.
He was charged with public lewdness and harassment and issued a desk-appearance ticket in that case, prosecutors said.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges in May, and in July, the case was adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, the DA’s office said.
Chapman’s latest crime came a day after Nicholas Dejesus, 42, allegedly punched and raped a 33-year-old woman – also a stranger – on Broadway near West 230th Street in Kingsbridge in The Bronx, authorities said.
Dejesus, who was on parole for robbery, was arrested about 12 hours after the attack and charged with rape, sexual abuse, assault and harassment, police said.
Rapes are up 27.5% in The Bronx so far this year, with 380 such attacks reported compared to 298 during the same period in 2024, according to the latest NYPD data.
Citywide statistics show a similar surge, with 1,484 rapes reported across the five boroughs so far this year – about a 21 percent increase from the 1,182 reported during that time frame in 2024.
The NYPD has said the rise can be attributed in part to “legislative changes” that broaden the definition of rape and include “additional forms of sexual assault.”
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