Bail denied for sex offender in Harlem attack on German tourist

HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- The registered sex offender accused of viciously beating, robbing and sexually assaulting a German tourist in Harlem was ordered held without bail Friday.

Keon Robinson is suspected in three separate incidents, though he is only officially charged in two while the investigation continues into the third. He was arrested Thursday in Schenectady on charges of attempted rape, robbery, assault and sex abuse.

Police said he is a level 3 sex offender who was recently released from prison this past January.

"He was arrested January 13, 2007, in the 81st Precinct, for a robbery very similar to this," NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said. "Robs a female and sexually assaulted her, as well. He is arrested and charged. He does seven years in jail. He got out in July 2014 as a registered sex offender. He violated his parole at some point in summer 2016 and did six months in jail for that."

Robinson reportedly lives in Harlem, just blocks from the attack on the tourist early on May 4.

The 31-year-old woman was beaten and sexually assaulted while returning to her Airbnb rental on West 146th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem around 2:50 a.m., according to police. The ambush was captured on surveillance video and shows the suspect placing the victim in a headlock before demanding her bag and punching her several times.

Investigators say the victim tried to fight Robinson off, but he unleashed a fury of blows and sexually assaulted her on the sidewalk before running off. A trail of blood and other surveillance cameras in the area helped investigators track Robinson's movements, eventually leading to his arrest.

"It's good that they caught the guy," area resident Jade Norfleet said. "We definitely don't want people like that on the loose, because I am a woman and there's a lot of women and young girls out here. You never wish that on anybody."

Keon is also charged in an April 24 robbery of a 35-year-old woman on Bradhurst Avenue, while detectives are working to determine if he is behind an April 27 mugging of a man on West 139th Street.