A serial creep tried to rape a 12-year-old girl inside a Brooklyn apartment building — less than a week after he was sprung without bail in a pair of eerily similar attacks, authorities said.
Justin Lee, 22, of Queens, was released on a technicality on September 28 after he was arrested for attacking two girls, ages 13 and 15, in separate scary incidents just hours apart, cops and prosecutors said.
Less than a week later, at around noon on Saturday, October 4, Lee allegedly ambushed the 12-year-old girl inside the elevator of her building at West 29th Street and Mermaid Avenue in Coney Island, authorities said.
He grabbed her by the arm, pulled her toward him, touched her private parts over her clothes and pinned her against the wall – then pressed his arm against her throat, restricting her breathing, according to a criminal complaint.
Lee then allegedly threw the shaken girl to the ground – and continued the brutal attack when she got back on her feet – again pinning her against the wall and pulling her pants down, the court doc charged.
He was arrested the next day and faces multiple charges including burglary, attempted burglary, burglary, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal trespass and harassment, according to the complaint.
Lee was ordered held on $75,000 cash bail or $150,000 bond during his Monday arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court, prosecutors said.
That appearance came after Lee — accused of accosting the 13-year-old girl in broad daylight and the 15-year-old girl in the evening — was released on his own recognizance in that same court, cops and prosecutors said.
Lee, who was wearing a Mario Kart T-shirt and a black ski mask, allegedly approached the first victim on Ocean Parkway near Cortelyou Road in Kensington around 1 p.m. September 27, cops said.
He allegedly followed the young teen into the lobby of her building, grabbed her by the neck and pushed her against the wall — and then ran off when she screamed, according to a criminal complaint.
Then, around 7 p.m., the creep allegedly approached the older girl on a ramp leading to her apartment building near the same intersection, cops and prosecutors said.
When the teen stepped into the elevator, the menacing stranger told her it was broken, and she stepped out, according to the complaint.
He then allegedly grabbed her from behind and held her in a bear hug, prompting her to scream, the court doc said.
The spooked intruder ran off – telling cops upon his arrest later, “I scared a girl because I grabbed her,” the complaint said.
Lee was released on his own recognizance during his arraignment on those cases, and prosecutors were unable to request bail based on a technicality in state law.
The top charge on those cases — second-degree burglary, is ordinarily eligible for bail when the offense happens inside a private dwelling, according to a source familiar with the case.
But because Lee allegedly committed both crimes in a lobby, the charge became non-bail-eligible, the source said.
Lee has no other prior arrests on his record, according to the source.
The NYPD released Lee’s mugshot Monday in an attempt to encourage other potential victims to come forward.
Those victims are encouraged to call the NYPD’s Sex Crimes Hotline at 1-212-267-RAPE (7273), the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.
