11-year-old girl pulled off bike, groped by stranger in Queens park: NYPD
GLENDALE, Queens (WABC) -- A man from Queens is facing a slew of charges including kidnapping and sex abuse after police say he attacked a young girl biking with her father.
Teddy Moussignac, 44, is charged with kidnapping, sex abuse of a victim under 13, criminal obstruction of breathing, forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child, assault and harassment.
Police say Moussignac grabbed an 11-year-old girl as she bicycled through Forest Park in Queens with her father just before 5 p.m. Monday.
He allegedly punched the girl and fondled her, telling her if she screamed, he would kill her.
The 37-year-old father was walking just behind his daughter, caught up with them and yelled for Moussignac to let her go.
The dad doesn't speak English and did not want to show his face on camera Wednesday, but described how a sweet Monday afternoon in the park turned into a nightmare in a matter of minutes.
He said he was walking behind her as she rode her bike and she got ahead of him and he lost sight of her for just a moment.
He said she cried out for him, and when he ran to find her, all he saw was her abandoned bike and then a man holding his daughter down in the bushes.
The father said the suspect hit his daughter several times and groped her. Moussignac ran away and was caught by two nearby police officers.
He was arraigned Wednesday morning where his bail was set at $150,000 cash and $450,000 bond. He is due back in court on Friday.
Residents in the area said they were shocked that this happened in the popular forest Park.
"I think it's really terrible that you have people just walking around the street and grabbing little children off a bike," one resident said.
The girl was treated at Jamaica Hospital for minor injuries. Her father says she has night terrors, cannot sleep and does not want to leave their apartment.
She did however return to her sixth grade classroom on Wednesday.
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