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Man Charged With Rape, Robbery In Queens Park Sex Assaults

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man has been charged in connection with a pair of knifepoint sex assaults at a park in Queens, police said Friday.

Charles Tobin, 29, was arrested and charged with rape, robbery, criminal sex act, sex abuse and criminal possession of a weapon.

Police said both incidents happened earlier this week inside Colden Park, also known Kissena Corridor Park, a sprawling park with a playground and areas covered by tall grasses and trees.

The first happened around 11 p.m. Tuesday. Police said a 32-year-old woman was walking inside the park when the man walked up behind her, pulled out a knife and demanded money.

The woman handed over $50 in cash, but that's when police said he pulled her over to a trail in a wooded area and raped her. The woman went to the hospital, where she was treated and released.

Then around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said a 17-year-old girl was walking in the park when the man approached, pulled out a knife and forced her into the woods. He then forced her to perform a sex act before fleeing, police said.

The girl walked to a local hospital, where the incident was reported.

Many neighbors are now wondering how two attacks could have happened in two days.

"After the first time, why wasn't cops, like, placed here the way that they should have been?" resident Juliet Morton told Doris. "I don't know, that doesn't really make a lot of sense to me."

Investigators said Tobin was caught inside the park again on Thursday, where this time police were waiting, recognized him from witness accounts and brought him into custody.

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