Suspected Central Park Rapist Arrested in Fla. While Working at Burger King

Dereck Rivera-DeleonCredit: Miami Beach PD/Facebook

Dereck Rivera-Deleon was arrested on Nov. 10 in Miami Beach

He is accused of raping a woman in Central Park on Oct. 24

Shortly after his arrest, the U.S. Marshals announced he was also charged with rapes in 2021 and 2023

A New York man suspected of raping a woman in Central Park was taken into custody more than 1,200 miles from home.

Dereck Rivera-Deleon was arrested by officers with the Miami Beach Police Department on Nov. 11 in connection with an alleged assault that occurred in New York City’s Central Park on Oct. 24.

Officers did not have to go very far to make the arrest as Rivera-Deleon was directly across the street from police headquarters at the time of his arrest.

Dereck Rivera-DeleonCredit: NYPD Crime Stoppers/Twitter

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Rivera-Deleon was arrested just outside a local real estate brokerage and property management firm.

In body camera footage obtained from police, six officers can be seen surrounding the suspect with their guns.

They order Rivera-Deleon to lie face down as they cuff him and prepare to walk him across the street to be booked into custody.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asks police. “I just wanna know, I didn’t do nothing wrong.”

Officers then inform him they have a warrant for his arrest.

The arrest was a joint effort involving detectives with the New York City Police Department and members of U.S. Marshals’ regional task force in addition to the arresting officers.

In addition to the Oct. 24 sexual assault, the U.S. Marshals announced shortly after the arrest that Rivera-Deleon “will also be charged with two separate sexual assaults that occurred in Central Park in 2023 and 2021.”

Rivera-Deleon remains in a Miami Beach jail awaiting extradition back to New York.

The 39-year-old victim of that Oct. 24 attack told police that she was on the east side of the park when an unidentified male approached her and displayed a knife. She told police that the man then proceeded to sexually assault her and then fled on foot.

“When violent offenders flee to evade justice, we will ensure there is no corner of the country where they can hide,” said Ricky J. Patel, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of New York.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

Source: Crime