A Hotline Success Story: (212) 267-RAPE

This is an update to the post "I didn't think he'd be able to get one past me" from December 4th. WOW. I just wanted to write and give an update to my story. As I said, I was so shaken up that I didn't have the mind to get off the train after the assault and find a police officer. I knew that I would definitely report it but the man was pretty non-descript and got off amidst hundreds of other people so I didn't think it would matter if I reported it right then or the next day. It happened on Wednesday evening during rush hour and I found the number for the NYC sex crimes hotline (212) 267-RAPE finally yesterday and called. They were so nice and called me back after having spoken with the transit precinct in my area that would handle the situation. She asked me if I would be willing to go out there and look through some mugshots and press charges. I was beside myself--I felt grateful someone had even answered the phone, let alone that they were taking the situation seriously. I said absolutely and took the train straight out to the precinct, which is actually located in the Van Wyck Blvd. subway station in Queens. The officer was expecting me and got some initial information and had her partner take the full report. I described the guy to the best of my ability--I gave estimates of his weight and height and I could remember some of the details of his face and what he was wearing. She asked if I would be able to pick him out of some photos and I said sure I would try. She asked why I didn't report it after it happened because there had been an officer on that platform at that time and it could have facilitated the process. I just told her because I was shaken up and didn't think it would make a difference. I just wasn't prepared for something like that to happen and didn't want to get off at the same stop as the creep, either. The two detectives I needed to speak with had gotten called out to something so she said unfortunately I would need to come back to look through the photos and I said that wasn't a problem and her partner offered to walk me out to the train. As we were walking out the two detectives walked up and I was elated. I couldn't believe the good fortune. They took me into their office and apologized for having me repeat the story but they needed to get as many details as possible. They set me up on a computer and offered me water and asked if I needed to use the phone since there wasn't any cell phone reception down there. We entered some search parameters in the database and I began clicking through dozens of pages of criminals. There were whole pages of people who looked nothing like my assailant and I just clicked through. Given the nature of the crime I wasn't so sure he would be in the system--because he hadn't committed a rape or outright exposed himself and I know that "smaller crimes" like public groping and indecency are reported, let alone prosecuted, with much much less frequency. I asked how advanced the system was and if I could set aside certain photos that were more similar than others just to kind of give them a more general idea of what he looked like but unfortunately that wasn't really possible. There were thousands and thousands of photographs and so another detective entered some more specific criteria and revised the search while another brought out a new binder with print outs of criminals that have been arrested more recently. I was pretty sure the mugshot efforts would be futile but I was so grateful for the incredibly respectful and smooth experience I was having with reporting such a gross and heinous, albeit sometimes shrugged off, crime. I really couldn't believe it. I opened the binder and started flipping through a few pages while the detectives pulled out even more binders that I could look through next. I had maybe flipped through about 10 pages and I turned a page and my heart just nearly stopped. My legs went absolutely limp and I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my body. My heart started racing and my hands were shaking and I said "omigosh--my heart is racing and my legs are limp and there's adrenaline pumping and I don't know why I would have this experience if this weren't him" And the female detective laughed and said "Well that's a pretty good sign." And I said "that's the guy." And the male detective asked me with what percentage of certainty I could say that it was him and I felt so surreal, couldn't believe I was actually picking someone out of a book of mugshots and that out of a city of 8 million people, this perp was actually in the book, and I said "100% that is the guy." He had been arrested only once before, three years ago, within a week of the crime against me, for something similar. His physical statistics matched what I had given them in my report almost to a T. In the report I had remembered some freckles on his nose and we zoomed in to the photo and sure enough-little brown freckles. So there's a search warrant out for this guy and one of the officers had just seen him on the train the day that I went in. He's definitely out there and no stranger to NYC's pervy little world. They said that if and when they pick him up they'll bring him in and I'll stand behind a glass window and I'll pick him out of a lineup. I have no idea what to make of the situation--filing the report for my own personal sanity and reponsibility and having an officer take it down and not shrug it off or tell me there was nothing they could do about it was beyond my own wildest expectations. That all this has happened as a result is absolutely incredible and mind boggling. If this creep is picked up and released or picked up and questioned and it makes him think twice about prowling around and spreading his misery and disease to others I will be happy. If this creep is picked up and I am able to press charges...well I have no idea what kind of effect that would have on me. But a big amount of justice took place yesterday and for that I am happy. Submitted by Violet