Makijah Lino in suspect images released by the police (NYPD)
Nov. 16, 2020 By Allie Griffin
A Queens man was arraigned Saturday on attempted sexual abuse and other charges after he allegedly pounced on a 14-year-old girl and two women in broad daylight in Kew Gardens, Forest Park and Richmond Hill last week.
Makijah Lino, 22, allegedly grabbed the teen and two women in three separate incidents over the span of just three hours Thursday. He attempted to remove the pants of both the teen and one of the women, and grabbed another woman’s buttocks, police said.
Lino, of Richmond Hill, began his frightening spree at around 10:30 a.m. when he approached a 20-year-old woman who was walking near 104th Street and Jamaica Avenue. He allegedly grabbed her buttocks and picked her up, according to the charges, but the woman was able to get out of his grip.
About two hours later, he allegedly targeted the 14-year-old on the corner of 118th Street and 84th Avenue in Kew Gardens and pushed her into a hedge. He tried to unfasten the button on her pants, but the teen was able to fight him off, according to the charges.
Lino then headed to Forest Park where he allegedly targeted a 24-year-old jogger running along Forest Park Drive. He picked the woman up and threw her to the ground and then pulled down her sweatpants, the charges state. The jogger struggled with Lino and he ran off.
He was arrested early Friday after the NYPD released images of a suspect from the scene of one of the sexual assaults. His own stepfather reportedly turned him in after seeing the images on the news, according to the New York Post.
Lino was arraigned at Queens Criminal Court Saturday on two counts of attempted sexual abuse in the first degree, forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a child. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said the three victims all have the right to feel safe on city streets and no one should be permitted to undermine that.
“We are all entitled to expect our city parks and their surroundings to be safe places for our families and ourselves,” she said in a statement. “The three females allegedly preyed upon by this defendant — one of them a teenager, all of whom we believe were randomly chosen — certainly had the right to such expectations.”
