A sicko who tried to rape a 21-year-old woman near Times Square told pals he was “in a bind” and needed to hide out after he caught wind that cops were searching for him, prosecutors alleged Wednesday.
Friends of accused pervert Anthony Smith, 37, warned him that the police were after him, sending him photos of the NYPD Crime Stoppers poster that featured his picture following the horrific August 10 attack, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Brianna Demilia said in court.
Smith, a convicted felon with six prior arrests, then allegedly hatched together a plan to outsmart the cops — but he left a paper trail, Demilia revealed at the alleged creep’s Manhattan Supreme Court arraignment.
Anthony Smith, 37, pleaded not guilty to attempted rape and other charges Wednesday. Steven Hirsch“He reached out to multiple individuals that he was ‘in a bind’ and that he needed a ‘get low hiding spot’ to evade the police,” Demilia told Judge Gregory Carro.
But Smith couldn’t outsmart the police, and he was arrested on August 13 in the Lower East Side after multiple individuals — including his own parole officer and several Department of Correction employees — identified him as the wanted sex fiend, prosecutors said.
Smith, who was indicted on charges of attempted rape, sex abuse and strangulation, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.
Prosecutors said that Smith snuck up on the victim from behind near West 47th Street near Eighth Avenue at around 3:30 a.m., as she was trying to head to a nearby subway station.
He put the woman in a chokehold and strangled her so forcefully that she immediately passed out, authorities said.
Manhattan prosecutors said Anthony Smith was warned by pals that his picture was featured on the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers. DCPI
Anthony Smith allegedly tried hatching a plan to “lay low” after the attack, prosecutors said. Steven Hirsch“The defendant squeezed (the victim’s) neck with so much force the victim lost consciousness within seconds,” Demilia said.
He then started sexually assaulting the victim while she laid helpless, but ran off when she regained consciousness, cops have said.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg vowed to continue tackling violent sex crimes in New York City.
“My Special Victims Division takes these crimes extremely seriously and will doggedly pursue justice in this case while centering the survivor’s needs,” Bragg said in a statement after the hearing.
Smith, who was ordered to be held without bail, is set to appear next in court on November 12.
