Detectives slapped the cuffs Monday on a homeless man with a lengthy criminal history who allegedly strangled and attempted to rape a woman on board a C train in Washington Heights this summer.
Sinke Zewge, 39, is accused of attacking the 40-year-old female victim while riding a northbound train approaching the 168th Street station at about 9:45 p.m. on the night of Aug. 3.
Sources familiar with the case stated that Zewge had been previously arrested 14 times, with the most recent arrest coming back in 2018 for forcible touching in Manhattan’s 25th Precinct. Other charges he’s faced in recent years range from possession of a forged instrument to robbery and second-degree assault.
According to law enforcement sources, Zewge allegedly approached the woman while she was seated on the train, then demanded her property. Seconds later, he allegedly slammed her into the train seats, then began strangling her until she briefly passed out.
Police said the suspect then groped the woman’s body and attempted to rape her. After the C train came to a stop at the station, Zewge allegedly dragged the woman out of the train car and onto the platform.
Seconds later, cops said, the attacker fled the station.
Officers from the 33rd Precinct and NYPD Transit District 3 responded to the assault. The victim was evaluated at the scene.
Zewge faces charges of attempted rape, robbery, assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal obstruction of breathing.
