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A 30-year-old Manhattan man was arrested for allegedly attempting to rape an 84-year-old woman at a Lower East Side Park — one week after trying to kiss a stranger in the same neighborhood, authorities said.
Ian Grandison allegedly barged into a restroom stall at Sara D. Roosevelt Park around 2:50 p.m. on March 11, forcing the octogenarian to the ground and yanking down her undergarments, according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Post.
The alleged creep then took off his own pants and underwear before a heroic witness intervened, the complaint said.
The good Samaritan dragged Grandison away from the battered victim and managed to take a picture of her alleged attacker as he fled the scene.
When police tracked down Grandison six hours later at his Tribeca apartment, they showed him that same photo, and he admitted, “That’s me,” the complaint said.
Locals and tourists enjoying the park Wednesday evening were on high alert.
“It’s kind of shocking to hear, especially since it was in the middle of the day,” Angie Brokaw, a 31-year-old tourist from Texas, told The Post.
Brokaw added that news of the assault reminded her to buy pepper spray, noting that the errand was now “a must.”
“I tend to think that, if I’m out in a public place like a busy park, I’m probably safe and maybe I’m not on my guard as much as I should be,” she said.
Gabriel Cay, a native New Yorker, refuses to leave his apartment without his trusty Taser.
“This is ridiculous. It’s f–king Gotham city,” he said.
Mackenzie Romig, a 26-year-old ceramics artist who lives in the neighborhood, told The Post that Sara D. Roosevelt Park “is a little sketchy all the time.”
“I love this area, but it’s scary to hear stuff like [the assault],” she said,
“Generally in the daytime, I feel safe walking around, but I’m always trying to be vigilant,” she added.
Grandison is also accused of forcing himself onto another woman on the Lower East Side on March 4.
He allegedly tailed the woman for five minutes before cornering her on Worth Street. He yanked her toward him and leaned in with his lips pursed while restraining her by her upper arms, according to the same complaint.
The victim fled in a vehicle. She also took a picture of her assailant, seen wearing the same outfit as Grandison was during the purported assault in Sara D. Roosevelt Park.
When Grandison was shown the picture, he told officers, “That’s me when I just got out of Bellevue [Hospital],” the complaint said.
Grandison was charged with attempted rape, attempted sexual abuse, and stalking. He is being held on a $300,000 bond and is set to appear in court on April 15.
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