Posted on November 4, 2022

Homeless Man With 25 Prior Arrests Busted in Rape of NYC Jogger

Larry Celona et al., New York Post, November 3, 2022

A homeless man wanted for two sex crimes — and who has at least 25 prior busts — was arrested in connection with the rape of a jogger in the West Village on Thursday and charged in all three cases, police and law-enforcement sources said.

Carl Phanor, 29, was busted at the Port Authority bus station several hours after the assault, which took place around 5:30 a.m. at Pier 45, the sources said.

Carl Phanor

Carl Phanor

Police say he grabbed a 43-year-old woman from behind as she ran in Hudson River Park, choked her and sexually assaulted her before robbing her and, according to a witness who called 911, leaving her shoeless and with blood running from her face and elbows.

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Phanor also was hit with charges in two previous attacks on city women — one from late March and the other in early October.

Prior to the sex-crime arrests, Phanor had been busted at least 25 other times, mostly for petit larceny, assault, drug possession and drug dealing, sources said. {snip}

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Police said in April that they were hunting for the fiend after he allegedly attacked a woman out on a run near West and Clarkson streets on March 27.

The woman was jogging on Pier 40 around 6 a.m. when the suspect, who was on a bike, rode up to her, pushed her down, choked her and sexually assaulted her before swiping her cell phone and taking off, cops said at the time.

On Oct. 6, the creep allegedly attacked a 48-year-old woman walking on the FDR Drive service road near East 37th Street around 5 a.m. He came up from behind, placed her in a chokehold and tried to rip off her clothes and rape her but the woman managed to fight him off {snip}

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Then on Thursday, Phanor — who was most recently living at a Manhattan homeless shelter — allegedly grabbed the jogger from behind near West and Christopher streets and choked her until she lost consciousness, before knocking her to the ground, taking off her clothing and raping her {snip}

He robbed her of her wallet, debit card, cellphone and headphones before taking off on a Citi Bike {snip}

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“A lot of questions are going to be asked” about who was looking for the suspect between the attacks, a source noted. He had multiple I-Cards, or notifications to cops to arrest a suspect if they’re seen, out in his name and it’s not clear why cops didn’t bust him after the first two assaults.

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