Long Island Man Charged In Two Separate Attacks On Women
WEST HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- An arrest was made Tuesday in two frightening attacks on women on Long Island.
A man charged last week is now believed to also be responsible for a rape late last year, and his line of work has police sounding a warning to the community.
The suspect's mother left Monday's arraignment without comment as her son is now charged in two sexual attacks on women. The family attorney called the arrest a mistake, telling the judge his client -- 24-year-old LeVar Burton -- vehemently denies the charges.
But Nassau Police say they've linked Burton to disturbing attacks on random women in two communities. Most recently, just after midnight on March 7, police say Burton came up from behind a 38-year-old victim on Middle Neck Road, covered her mouth, then groped her. The woman bit him before he fled, leaving evidence behind.
Police say that evidence now ties him to a rape in West Hempstead last year.
"This is the individual right here, LeVar Burton," Nassau Police Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun said Tuesday. "As you can see, he's been apprehended and hopefully we will never see this individual on the streets of Nassau County or any county again."
In December, Burton allegedly followed a 21-year-old woman to her car before dawn on Terminal Road, put a gun to her head, and ordered her to drive away before he duct taped her mouth and hands and proceeded to rape her.
As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reports, the block where the alleged rape occurred is filled with children's sporting venues.
Police are making it a point to alert the public partly because Burton worked as a newspaper deliveryman, crisscrossing the county. They're urging women to take a good look at the man now connected to two separate attacks.
"I am imploring all women that if they did have contact with this individual or anything that has similarities to this case they can call us," LeBrun said.
Authorities won't say what led them to Burton, but there are surveillance cameras on every corner at the crime scene in Great Neck.
CBS2 reports that Burton has no prior criminal record and is being held without bail on rape, robbery, and kidnapping charges.
