The NYPD has arrested a man they suspect committed at least one rape and several attempted rapes on the Lower East Side and in Chinatown this week.
Robert Bowie, a 20-year-old Bronx resident, was arrested today and charged in connection with three separate incidents early Thursday morning. Police say the first incident occurred at around 5:40 a.m. on James Street; Bowie allegedly followed a 33-year-old female victim into her apartment building and attempted to rape her and rob her. She was able to fight him off, and he fled.
The second incident occurred just two hours later on Broome Street. The NYPD says Bowie followed a 24-year-old female victim into her apartment building, grabbed her by the shoulders and stole her ID—she screamed and he fled, according to police.
And at 8:45 a.m., police say Bowie camped out on the stairway of a 40-year-old woman's apartment on the FDR Drive—he allegedly forced the woman into her apartment and raped her before fleeing the scene. The victim was treated at an area hospital and released.
He was briefly caught on surveillance tape:
2787-15 MSV Pattern 5 and 7 Pcts 11-12-15by Gothamist
Bowie has been hit with a litany of charges, including rape, attempted rape, sex abuse, robbery and burglary.
