Central Park rape suspect nabbed at his job in Miami, tied to other NYC attacks

Authorities have arrested a man suspected of raping a woman at knifepoint in Central Park last month, and they allege he is connected to two other rapes that happened in the iconic space since 2021, the NYPD said Tuesday.

The NYPD had been looking for the suspect, whom they identified Tuesday as Dereck Rivera-Deleon, since the Oct. 24 attack on a 39-year-old woman near East 66th Street and Fifth Avenue.

NYPD detectives assigned to the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force took Rivera-Deleon into custody while he was working at a Burger King in Miami. In addition to the Oct. 24, 2026, attack, he is expected to be charged with two Central Park rapes dating back to 2023 and 2021, respectively.

Additional details are expected as the investigation develops.

Information on a possible attorney for Rivera-Deleon wasn’t immediately available, nor was it clear when he might be extradited to face charges in New York.

Park-goers expressed concern after the late-October assault.

“You should be safe to walk into the park and enjoy the beauty of Central Park. It is everybody’s backyard,” one woman said after the latest attack. “I wish there was more police presence in the park. During the day, I don’t find it necessary but in the evening I think it is.”

“Obviously, nobody wants like a hundred police officers around you constantly to ensure that you’re safe. It should be a given,” another woman in the park said.

The weekend attack was the fifth reported sexual assault in the park this year, according to NYPD records.

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