Within hours of an assault, a 20-year-old NYU student had posted an emotional video about the attack on TikTok which helped police nab the man alleged to be wanted for burglaries and at least two earlier attacks against women.
The NYPD found the alleged attacker in a vacant apartment in Washington Square Village on Dec. 2 where a string of burglaries had taken place. Police said they arrested James Rizzo, 45 and charged him in connnection with the attack on the NYU student as well as two earlier unsolved attacks on women. He was charged with persistent sexual abuse, forcible touching and assault. Rizzo, had 16 prior arrests and was out on parole after serving time for sex abuse, according to the New York State Department of Corrections. The most recent victim, Amelia Lewis in an emotional post on TikTok described how she was attacked near the intersection of Waverly Place and Broadway at 735 Broadway while enroute to a class.
”I was like, ‘what the hell was that’, Lewis said on the TikTok video. She was slapped from behind on the butt and pushed to the ground by her attacker who grabbed her hair, sending her headphones flying…