The 63-year-old Queens sicko who allegedly raped a 14-year-old boy in broad daylight last week after bribing him with a potential construction job has two prior arrests – both targeting strangers in the same borough, cops said Thursday.
Virgilio Taveras – who now faces a second-degree rape charge in the disturbing July 1 encounter in Jamaica – has previous busts on his record for threatening a woman with a bat, as well as punching and choking a young man until he fell unconscious, authorities said.
His first brush with the law came on June 7, 2013, when he allegedly argued with a female stranger on Roosevelt Avenue and then trailed behind her while continuing to yell and wielding a gray metal bat – making her fear for her safety, cops said.
Taveras was arrested and charged with menacing, criminal possession of a weapon, harassment and disorderly conduct, police said.
Then, on July 7, 2018, Taveras allegedly punched a 19-year-old man who is not known to him — before grabbing and pressing on his neck until he lost consciousness at the southwest corner of 37th Avenue and 111th Street, police said.
He was charged with criminal obstruction of breathing and misdemeanor assault, cops said.
The final disposition of those arrests is unclear, as the Queens District Attorney’s Office said no information is “publicly available” on those cases.
The latest sickening attack unfolded as the 14-year-old victim walked on 171st Street near Jamaica Avenue around 1 p.m., according to a complaint filed in Queens Criminal Court.
Taveras pulled up slowly in a silver sedan, honked several times, and offered him a job in construction if he got into the car, court documents revealed.
Once the boy got in, the alleged predator allegedly sped off, asked about his dating life, and told the youngster he was attractive before abruptly pulling over and assaulting him.
The accused creep then slipped a $50 bill into the minor’s pocket as he exited the car, according to the complaint.
Taveras — who lives about two miles from the scene — was arrested two days later by members of the Special Victims Squad, police said.
He was arraigned Friday in Queens Criminal Court on charges of second-degree rape, luring a child, forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree sexual abuse.
He was ordered held on $20,000 cash bail or $60,000 bond.
The NYPD has since released the fiend’s mugshot and images of the car he used to approach the young boy in hopes that any other victims will come forward.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the NYPD’s Sex Crimes Hotline at 1-212-267-RAPE (7273) or the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
Anonymous tips can also be submitted online.
