A cyclist rides past a New York Police Department (NYPD) station in Times Square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, December 15, 2021. © REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
(New York, NY) – On Monday, as she was headed to class, NYU student Amelia Lewis was randomly assaulted. A creep with a long rap sheet had run up behind her, slapped her butt, and violently thrown her to the ground. Lewis shared her frightening tale with Sid Rosenberg Friday.
The sad reality is that Lewis’ attacker may have gotten away with it, if not for help from her friend. As the shaken student was telling her friends what happened, fellow NYU student Summer Armstrong took action. Having received a text from Lewis, Armstrong went to a nearby liquor store, where she obtained surveillance camera footage of the attack. Using FaceTime to speak with the victim, footage was secured — then shared online.
SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly shared it. It went viral. That also led to Lewis’ interview with Rosenberg, who — himself the father of a young woman — finds himself increasingly horrified by random attacks on women in NYC.
The alleged attacker — identified as 45-year-old James Rizzo — is a Level Two sex offender. He has 16 previous arrests, and was just released from state prison in September. The video of the attack is nothing short of disturbing. A man — cops say it is in fact Rizzo — approaches Lewis from behind, pulling her hair, slapping her head and butt, then slamming her to the pavement. That attack happened in Greenwich Village, not far from NYU’s campus.
After appearing in court overnight, Rizzo was officially charged. He appears somewhat disheveled with long hair pulled back into a ponytail.
Rizzo’s long rap sheet includes attempted murder when he was still a teenager. He also has a sex-assault conviction in 2023 — that was why he was imprisoned up through September. In the Lewis’ case, he’s been charged with forcible touching and persistent sexual abuse. He also now stands accused of additional assaults on a 68-year-old woman after the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade — and a 59-year-old woman in 2023.
Both Lewis and Armstrong credited the viral video and public pressure with speeding up the arrest. Lewis said she shared her story to raise awareness about the frequent random assaults on young women in New York City and to support other victims.
