A heroic dad rescued his 11-year-old daughter from a creep who allegedly snatched her and tried to sexually assault her while the pair were riding their bikes through a Queens park Monday, police said.
The 37-year-old father and daughter were biking through Forest Park near the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard, just before 5 p.m., when she pedaled ahead of him and veered off the main path, law enforcement sources said.
That’s when Teddy Moussignac, 44, who was lurking in the bushes near a more secluded area of the park called Victory Field, leapt out and knocked the girl off her bike, according to the NYPD.
He allegedly covered her nose and mouth with his hand, threatened her, and started dragging her away, cops said.
“If you scream, I’ll kill you,” Moussignac reportedly said, according to sources. “I just need help with something.”
Moussignac, who lives in Brooklyn, allegedly punched the girl as she struggled to get away while he dragged her deeper into the park and began fondling her, police said.
The girl’s frenzied father caught up to his daughter’s knocked-over bike, saw what was happening and quickly leapt into action. He shouted and ran over to thwart the attack, sources said.
Moussignac fled, but was nabbed shortly after by two officers in the area.
He was charged with kidnapping, sex abuse of a victim under 13, criminal obstruction of breathing, forcible touching of intimate parts, endangering the welfare of a child, assault and harassment, according to the NYPD.
Moussignac has one prior arrest, but it’s unclear what for since the record is sealed, according to sources.
The victim was taken to Jamaica Hospital for injuries sustained in the attack, cops said.
A local parent said he’s wary of the more remote areas in the park, and that he’s often encountered “crazy people” lurking there.
Brandon Ziegenfuss, 42, who raised his two children in a nearby apartment complex, said he was always on guard in that area of the park.
“There was always something crazy happening,” he said. “It was overrun with weirdos,” he said.
He said the NYPD was more concerned with the swankier part of the park that abutted Forest Hills than where the girl was attacked.
“The cops would never do anything about our side of the park because they were too busy protecting the nicer area of the park,” he said. “But that’s the way the world works. What are you going to do?”
