On June 13, at the Kissena Corridor Park in Flushing, Queens, two 13-year-old children were kidnapped and the girl, an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador, was raped. The suspect, Christian Inga, aged 25, appeared in Queens Criminal Court on June 19 to face charges brought by the Queens District Attorney’s Office, including first-degree rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of predatory sexual assault, and other offenses.
During the crime, Christian Inga reportedly gagged the mouths of the two children with cloth. According to the prosecutor’s office, the defendant used a long blade or machete to capture and bind the two children together in the park.
The criminal complaint states that around 3:30 p.m. on June 13, the defendant approached the two teenagers at the Kissena Corridor Park, waving a weapon and tying them up while silencing them with cloth gags. He then stole their phones, raped the girl, and fled the park.
The defendant ordered the children to remain silent, bound them together with shoelaces, stole their phones, cut their clothes with a knife, and even filmed the incident himself, as described in the criminal complaint.
A sketch of Christian Inga’s face and his chest tattoo were released by the police the day after the incident, followed by the suspect’s photo on the fourth day. In the early hours of Tuesday, the defendant was apprehended outside a grocery store near Waldorn Street and 108th Street thanks to the collective effort of the public, leading to his arrest by the arriving police.
Authorities revealed that Inga had entered the United States in June 2021 through Eagle Pass, Texas, with his 3-year-old child and admitted to having a drug problem upon his arrest. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued a warrant for his arrest.
He faces charges including predatory sexual assault, first-degree rape, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, two counts of first-degree robbery, second-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse, obstruction of governmental administration, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
The Queens District Attorney stated that this brazen attack on two children in broad daylight in a city park has deeply shaken our society. The brave victims who came forward and the swift action taken by the New York City Police Department to arrest the suspect were acknowledged. The defendant will face justice in court.
If convicted, Inga could face 25 years to life in prison, with his next court appearance scheduled for July 1.