Police say a brave father saved his 11-year-old daughter from a jerk who grabbed her and tried to sexually assault her while they were riding their bikes through a Queens park on Monday.
The 37-year-old father and daughter were riding their bikes through Forest Park just before 5 p.m., near where Myrtle Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard meet. She passed him and went off the main path, according to police sources.
Teddy Moussignac, 44, was hiding in the bushes near Victory Field, which is a more rural part of the park, according to the NYPD. He jumped out of the bushes and knocked the girl off her bike.
Police say he made threats, put his hand over her mouth and nose, and started to drag her away.
Moussignac is said to have said, “If you scream, I’ll kill you.” I need some help with something.
Police say that Moussignac, who lives in Brooklyn, dragged the girl deeper into the park and began to caress her while hitting her as she tried to run away.
What was going on was clear to the girl’s worried father as he finally reached her fallen bike. He took quick action. Sources say he ran over and yelled for the attack to stop.
Moussignac escaped, but two police officers nearby quickly caught him.
Forcible touching of intimate parts, illegal obstruction of breathing, sex abuse of a victim under 13, endangering the welfare of a child, assault, and harassment were some of the things the NYPD said he was charged with.
Some people say that Moussignac has been jailed before, but it’s not clear why because the record is sealed.
Police say that the victim had to be taken to Jamaica Hospital because of the injuries they got in the attack.
A parent in the area says that he is careful in the park’s more remote areas because he has often seen “crazy people” hiding there.
Brandon Ziegenfuss, 42, who grew up in a nearby apartment building and now lives there with his two kids, says that he was always watching out for him in that part of the park.
“There was always something crazy going on,” he said. There were too many weirdos there.
He said that the nicer part of the park that faced Forest Hills was more important to the NYPD than the place where the girl was attacked.
“The police would never do anything about our side of the park because they were too busy keeping the nicer side of the park safe,” he explained. That’s just how things are. “What are you going to do?”
