Suspect held without bond in Florida while awaiting extradition to New York

Authorities including the US Marshals have arrested a man in Miami who is wanted in connection with three alleged rapes in New York’s Central Park, including one reported last month, New York City police said.

Dereck Rivera-Deleon, 30, was taken into custody on Tuesday while working at a Burger King in Miami, the New York City Police Department said. Rivera-Deleon, originally from the Bronx, was arrested on allegations that he raped a woman in Central Park on October 24, 2026, the department said, adding that he will also be charged with two rapes that occurred in the park in 2023 and 2021.

Police responded last month to a report from a 39-year-old woman who said a man threatened her with a knife before dragging her to a secluded area of Central Park and raping her, according to the NYPD. The incident happened at about 8:30 p.m. near Fifth Avenue between 66th and 67th streets, police said. The woman was taken to a hospital for treatment.

The NYPD later released images of the suspect showing a man dressed in black, wearing a hoodie and carrying what appeared to be a backpack.

Rivera-Deleon is being held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight correctional center in south Florida as he awaits extradition to New York, local outlets reported. Burger King told NBC6 that Rivera-Deleon had been working at the restaurant for less than two weeks and is no longer employed by the company.

Body camera footage showed authorities with the US Marshals and the Miami Beach police department arresting Rivera-Deleon in broad daylight on Tuesday. At one point, Rivera-Deleon asked: “Are you guys confusing me with somebody else?”

The Burger King where Rivera-Deleon worked is located directly across from the Miami Beach police department, NBC Miami reported.

In a statement on the arrest, Miami Beach police spokesperson Christopher Bess said: “He was extremely violent. He was a fugitive out of New York. And luckily, due to the swift actions and great investigative skills of our detectives and our federal partners, we perhaps prevented another rape.”

Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s mayor, said in response to the incident: “What happened to this survivor is horrific. This is something that no one should have to endure. We know that every New Yorker should be able to walk anywhere in our city at any time of day and they should be safe, and anything less than that is not something that I will ever justify or accept.”

After Rivera-Deleon’s arrest, the NYPD said it will “stop at nothing to get dangerous criminals off our streets”.

Ricky J Patel, US Marshal for the southern district of New York, said: “When violent offenders flee to evade justice, we will ensure there is no corner of the country where they can hide.”

Support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse is available in the US from Rainn at 800-656-4673.