As reported, police said that on Tuesday, June 23, Election Night, at around 10 p.m. a 13-year-old female victim was on board a northbound BX9 MTA bus when she was approached by an unidentified person.

 

The same day, according to the Bronx District Attorney’s office, the Assistant District Attorney in the case asked for supervised release and the defendant’s next court date is in July.

Norwood News was later informed by a law enforcement source that the defendant did not allegedly drag the victim into the park and that bail was not requested in the case of the defendant because further investigation is warranted.

According to the criminal complaint, at the “northeast corner of Broadway and West 262nd Street,” the defendant, being 18 years or more, engaged in vaginal sexual contact with another person less than 15 years of age, the defendant, being 21 years or more, engaged in vaginal sexual contact with another person less than 17 years of age, without their consent, touched her breasts without her consent, and knowingly acted in a manner likely to be injurious to the mental, physical or moral welfare of a child less than 17 years of age, or directed or authorized such child to engage in an occupation involving a substantial risk of danger to his or her life or health, and subjected a person to sexual contact without their consent.

When Norwood News visited the location in the early hours of Sunday, June 28, we were informed by local people that the stop at 261st Street is the last stop for the Bx9, and it was clear that the northbound side of Broadway next to the park was very dark, even though a deli and a few other businesses are located on the other side of the street. (The attached photos were taken with a flash.)

 

The area wasn’t completely deserted despite the early hour and there were a handful of people milling around though it was a weekend night and the area was likely less active on Election Night which was a Tuesday.

 

Nobody we spoke to had seen the incident take place. Most said the area, located a short distance away from Yonkers and the Westchester County border, was generally quiet and residential. Some local employees and others said they had seen an uptick in car break-ins and people camped out in the woods in recent years.

A homeless shelter, with a camera affixed outside, is due to open shortly on the corner of 263rd Street and Broadway across the street from the last northbound bus-stop for the Bx9. A security guard was seen inside and we attempted to speak to him to ask if he had captured the incident on the camera but he declined to respond. Workers in another nearby business, which also has an exterior camera affixed outside, also declined to comment.

 

[For the avoidance of doubt, the intention is not to disclose the footage since we’re obviously aware the victim’s identity has to be protected. It’s more so to see if, perhaps, there are any additional details in the footage that could be described in written format in order to potentially help the public identify the suspect.]

A young boy estimated to be around 14 was seen seated at the southbound bus-stop alone seemingly waiting for the bus. Norwood News also witnessed and later spoke to a young woman who was seen getting off the Bx9 at the last bus-stop on the northbound side of Broadway next to the park. She was unaware of the rape and was horrified to hear about it.

 

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark joins NYPD officials for the opening of a new Bronx Special Victims Unit at 188 West 230th Street in Kingsbridge, The Bronx, Oct. 27, 2025. Video by Síle Moloney

Stressing that she was not in any way blaming the victim, she questioned why a 13-year-old was alone on a bus at 10 p.m. on a school night. The same woman said she sometimes notices young people hanging out in the park in summer time but never felt threatened or unsafe. She mentioned that even as she was going home one night, having been drinking, she was helped home by strangers. She said the area was largely residential. The woman added that sometimes the Bx9 remains at the last stop for a duration before heading back southbound again.

 

Among the others we spoke to in the general area, in which a rehabilitation home is located, were two fathers. One said he didn’t want to say what he would do to the alleged rapist, while the other said his daughter was the same age as the victim, 13, and expressed his shock and sadness upon hearing of the incident.