Registered sex offender accused of mugging woman in Brooklyn, then returning to sexually assault her
A registered sex offender has been busted on charges he mugged a woman on a Brooklyn street, then returned to sexually assault her minutes later, police said.
Investigators used surveillance camera footage to identify Miguel James, 42, as the suspect in the horrific early Friday morning attack, and arrested him Wednesday.
The 54-year-old victim was standing outside a building at St. Marks Ave. and East New York Ave. in Crown Heights about 2 a.m., when James pulled up to her in a dark SUV and asked if she needed a ride, cops said.
She told him no, and he got out of his vehicle, punched her in the stomach and took her purse, cops said.
James drove off, and the victim ― whose phone was in the purse — started walking home, cops said.
She made it a few blocks west before James returned, cops said. He got out of his SUV, and sexually assaulted her near St. Marks and Howard Aves., then fled, cops said.
The victim went to Brookdale University Hospital for treatment a day later. Police initially released an artist’s sketch of the suspect Sunday.
Public records show James is a level 2 sex offender, stemming from a 1998 robbery and sexual abuse conviction. His victim in that case was a 14-year-old girl, according to public records. He was sentenced to four to eight years behind bars.
He’s now charged with robbery, assault, criminal sex act, sexual abuse and forcible touching, and awaits arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court.
