Central Park rape suspect Dereck Rivera-Deleon awaits extradition from Miami

CENTRAL PARK, Manhattan (WABC) — The man accused in three unsolved sexual assaults in Central Park remains in custody in Florida pending extradition to New York.

His arrest ended a five-year search, according to law enforcement authorities.

Authorities said 30-year-old Dereck Rivera-Deleon was arrested Tuesday on a street in Miami Beach and charged in connection with all three rapes. Law enforcement sources said investigators located him by tracking his cellphone. He is being held on a fugitive warrant and is awaiting extradition to New York after working at a Burger King restaurant in South Beach.

According to police, the cases remained unsolved for years. The first attack occurred in July 2021, when a 23-year-old woman reported being sexually assaulted in Central Park. A second assault was reported in October 2023 by an 18-year-old woman who identified the suspect as Dereck Rivera. A third victim, a 39-year-old woman, reported being assaulted in October 2026. Sources said DNA recovered at the scene of the most recent attack matched evidence from the two earlier rapes.

Christopher Bess of the Miami Beach Police Department said investigators had been searching for the suspect for years.

“We don’t know how long he’s been in South Florida, but we do know that N.Y.P.D. have been pursuing him for about five years,” Bess said.

Authorities said the second victim knew the suspect, but investigators were unable to locate him until he surfaced in Miami Beach.

Bess said detectives in Miami Beach identified Rivera-Deleon’s location and took him into custody near his workplace.

“We don’t believe that he’s been in our city very long. And we don’t know why he chose our city,” Bess said. “Our detectives were able to conduct the work up, identify his whereabouts, and they learned that he worked right across the street from our police headquarters and arrest him. He didn’t even know what was coming.”

The arrest comes more than two weeks after the October attack, which prompted a citywide search and increased police patrols in Central Park.

According to police, the victim was walking inside Central Park near East 67th Street and East Drive at about 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 24 when the suspect approached her, displayed a knife and sexually assaulted her. She was taken to a hospital in stable condition, and the suspect fled on foot.

Investigators later released surveillance images and video of the suspect as they worked to identify him.

The attack drew sharp condemnation from city leaders. Mayor Zohran Mamdani previously called the assault “horrific” and said every New Yorker should be able to walk safely anywhere in the city.

Following the October assault, the NYPD increased patrols throughout Central Park and urged visitors to remain aware of their surroundings. Police now say arrests have been made in four of the five reported rapes in Central Park this year.

The arrest comes during a difficult year for crime in Central Park. Major crime is up 17%, driven by increases in rapes and robberies, and the park also recorded its first homicide in at least a decade.

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