Transit Cop Catches Subway Groping Suspect; Alleged Necrophile Jailed on Rikers

Officer Roman, a female officer with the Transit Bureau, showed what sharp eyes and social media can do to fight the scourge of subway gropers.

Roman was on her way to court downtown on May 1 when she spotted a suspect whose photo had recently been posted online by NYPD Crime Stoppers.

The incident had occurred day earlier, on April 30, up in Washington Heights within the confines of the 34 Precinct/Transit District 3.

At approximately 8:35 a.m., a 34-year-old female was riding the southbound 1 train at 191st Street when an unidentified male individual approached her, grabbed her waist and grinded on her buttock.

The female victim remained on the train and though she wasn’t physically injured, she was upset enough to report it to the cops.

“The New York City Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the individual depicted in the attached media in connection with a sexual misconduct incident...” the CrimeStoppers alert began.

A surveillance photo of the suspect described him as “a male with a dark complexion, approximately 30 to 40 years of age, 5 feet 11 inches in height, medium build. He was last seen wearing a black hat, gray sweatshirt, and dark color pants.”

This crime reporter would add the sweatshirt had a large orange and white AU on the front—Auburn University. This is unusual subway attire, likewise the suspect’s mirrored, aviator-like sunglasses.

And so, come May Day, Officer Roman spotted the suspect on the train. Never losing sight of him, she called for backup, and by 12:55 p.m. the alleged groper was in handcuffs.

Nobody who spends much time in the Union Square, or the 13th Precinct generally, will be surprised to learn that’s where Officer Roman posed to prove to the public that the crime of groping doesn’t pay.

The man arrested is Gerson Fenandez, a 33-year-old male of 131 West 25th St. in Chelsea. He was charged with two counts of Forcible Touching and Sexual Abuse, 3rd Degree.

Subway Necrophile Caught & Jailed at Rikers; Dead Man Mourned

Alleged subway corpse raper Felix Rojas, 44, who was accused of having sex with a dead man, Jorge Gonzalez, on a downtown R train on April 9, isn’t going anywhere soon. Straus News reported the original, horrifying Whitehall Street station incident in that week’s Crime Watch.

Rojas was subsequently arrested on Sunday April 27. A few days later, Rojas’ status as a repeatedly deported illegal migrant from Mexico was revealed. The circumstances around of the death of Gonzalez remain unclear though his wife, from whom he was separated, described him to the New York Post as both a loving family man and a severe alcoholic with cirrhosis.

Cops are still seeking a possible second suspect in the heinous crime, while Rojas, who the Department of Corrections lists as 5’4”, 145 lbs, is being held on Rikers Island without bail on attempted rape and immigration charges.