A 16-year-old Queens boy denied bail for recent sex attacks in Valley Stream is being investigated for similar unsolved sex crimes on either side of the New York City line, authorities said.
Nassau County police said there are similarities between the two attacks Nashane Peterkin of Springfield Gardens was accused of, a third case in Lynbrook and others in NYC.
“Serial sexual predatory events in Nassau County are extremely rare,” Chief of Department Steve Skrynecki told reporters during a press conference Monday at police headquarters. “We are looking at other cases.”
Peterkin was charged with first-degree rape, assault, strangulation and attempted sexual abuse after being apprehended Sunday in Howard Beach.
Police alleged he raped a 60-year-old woman on a hiking path at Valley Stream State Park on Sunday, Sept. 1. He also allegedly accosted, beat and tried to rip the clothes off of a 30-year-old woman who fought him off while walking home from the Valley Stream train station the night of Aug. 12.
Skrynecki, who noted that the suspect was set to start high school Monday, said that the evidence against Peterkin includes DNA and one of the victims identifying the suspect in a lineup.
He added that Nassau police had come up with their sketch of the suspect shortly before the park rape but had not publicly released it or the details of the first two cases because investigators were initially unsure if they were linked. After the park attack, “the pieces started to fall into place,” he said.
Special Section Squad detectives are continuing the joint investigation with the NYPD, district attorney’s office, New York State Police and New York State Parks Police.
