Overview
- Police arrested Dereck Rivera-Deleon on Tuesday while he was working at a Burger King in Miami, the NYPD said.
- Investigators say he will be charged in the knifepoint rape of a 39-year-old woman in Central Park on Oct. 24, 2026, and in separate rapes in the park in 2023 and 2021.
- Police described the Oct. 24 assault as a knife threat in which the attacker dragged the victim into a wooded area and the woman was taken to a hospital in stable condition.
- NYPD detectives assigned to the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force carried out the arrest with U.S. Marshals support, and authorities have not yet set a date for his transfer to New York.
- The arrest follows public release of surveillance images, increased patrols in Central Park, and is part of broader investigations after five rapes were reported in the park in 2026, with three cases already leading to arrests.