NYPD sketch artist helps trap suspect

The 13-year-old victim in a Queens Park rape was the picture of courage in the hours after the heinous stabbing attack – overcoming her terror to remember key details that helped catch the monster.

“She was so nervous she was shaking,” recalls Detective Jason Harvey, one of two New York police sketch artists. “But she managed to calm down and talk to me.”

Over the next few hours, the courageous teenager gave the two-decade veteran vivid details about her attacker's facial features, his hair and the distinctive wild boar tattoo on the left side of his chest. It was this red ink tattoo that helped cops definitively identify the alleged rapist.

“She remembered what he was wearing, what his tattoo looked like exactly,” he said.

She was able to give an accurate description of his face, saying it was oval, described his black clothing and spiky hair, and even recalled his braces.

“She would say, 'This doesn't look right, change it and give me direction,'” Harvey said.

But the most descriptive element she identified was the tattoo.

“She remembered his eyes were red,” Harvey said. “She remembered everything about that tattoo.”

One thing that helped the teen was having the 13-year-old friend who was with her during the attack during the interview with her, Harvey said.

“Having her friend there really calmed her down,” the detective said. “He was able to help her.”

The two teenagers were in a field in Kissena Park around 3:30 p.m. on June 13, playing soccer after school when alleged rapist Christian Inga-Landi, an illegal Ecuadorian migrant, forced them further into the park to the point of a “machete blow”. knife,” the cops said.

He then tied their hands with shoelaces and raped the girl, police said. The boy remained face down during the entire attack and therefore did not see what was happening to his friend, police sources said.

Rape victims do not always have useful memories after an attack.

“They have more time to monitor their attackers,” Harvey said. “But a lot of times people hide that.”

Once Harvey's sketches were completed, they were printed on wanted posters, posted around town, and broadcast on social media and television.

Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the sketch – which included a drawing of the tattoo – was the key to the case.

“The sketch artist gave us this picture to work on and I'll tell you right now, that sketch was perfect,” he said after the arrest.

The migrant was arrested when good Samaritans recognized him at the 108th Street Grocery in Queens around 1 a.m. Tuesday. His shirt came off during his fight, revealing the telltale tattoo.

Angela Sauretti, 23, said the crowd turned on him even more when they saw and recognized the tattoo, which was only depicted in Harvey's sketch.

Harvey, who attended the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Fla., before joining law enforcement, was glad his sketch helped.

“It feels good, it sure does,” said the Rockland County father of two. “I just drew the picture.”

Detectives Endowment Association President Paul DiGiacomo was less humble about his detective's work.

“The skills of NYPD detectives are limitless, like unsung hero cartoonist Jason Harvey,” DiGiacomo said. “His drawing allowed investigators to apprehend the monster wanted for this heinous crime.”