The suspected arrested Saturday evening in connection with the Rye Town Park assault, Port Chester resident Richard A. Olmino, appears to have been familiar with the Milton Road area in Rye. At a media briefing Monday morning, City of Rye Public Safety Commissioner appealed to the public for assistance.
“We believe that he may have been providing [landscaping] services to residents in this area, what we also know is that these attacks all took place in close proximity and that they all began on or around Milton Road or they terminated there,” said Kopy. “So he appears to have had some familiarity with that area.”
Olmino was arrested by Rye PD Saturday evening as he exited an apartment complex on King Street in Port Chester. He is reported to have worked for Hidalgo’s Landscaping in Port Chester. Olmino has been driving a 2009 Acura MDX.
“Clearly this individual has a history of predatory sexual behavior,” said Kopy. “We’ve seen the rap sheet, we’re seeing what happened and very quick period of time in this area. So I think it is likely that we may see additional complaints come in.”
Residents with any information are urged to call The City of Rye Police Department at 914-967-1234. The investigation remains active.
Kopy reviewed the various incidents being investigated by the Rye PD and other authorities:
- June 3rd event: Olmino is suspected in the June 3 assault of 18-Year Old Female on Boston Post Road near Rye High School. Kopy: “At approximately one in the end on June 3, an 18 year old female reported that she was walking on Playland Parkway with a friend. She separated from the friend at the Post Road, and she reported that she was followed by a male subject, the male subject caught up with her at the Rye high school football field, at which point after a brief conversation between the two, she was assaulted there. The victim at the conclusion of the assault continued northbound on the Post Road where a Rye police officer was observing traffic approximately 100 yards away at Parsons Street.”
- May 3rd event: Kopy: “Part of that [June 3rd] investigation required us to notify the public and seek their help in identifying the suspect. We put a notification out. After that notification came out, we were contacted by what was then a 15 year old female and her mother to report what they said was a strange incident. They reported that at approximately 2am on May 3 that the 15 year old was walking, she had just departed from a group of friends at the intersection of Oakland Beach and Milton Road. She was heading south on Milton Road when she was confronted by a subject who began to talk to her. She claimed she got afraid and immediately returned back to her friends. When we discussed this with her her description was similar to the suspect that we had been seeking in the first event, although no crime is reported.”
- June 23rd event: Kopy: “Just around midnight Wednesday into Thursday morning, we received a report from a 16 year old female who had been jogging on Forest Avenue in the area of Dearborn near Rye Town Park. Again, a male subject approached her. she didn’t know from where. He began questioning with her and subsequently tackled her in the park and assaulted her. We were fortunate on that night that the Rye Town Park had a security guard on duty that the security guard heard screaming and came up and interrupted the assault. The suspect at that point fled over the rock wall and continued down Oakland Beach Avenue in the direction of Milton Road.”
- Other known events including November 3, 2022 in East Hampton: Kopy: “[Olmino] was currently out on bail from an incident to happen East Hampton, Suffolk County. The subject is currently in court out there for a charge of criminal sexual act in the first degree which is a Class B felony, as well as strangulation and other charges. Additionally, we know that he has a record for public lewdness and indecency. He currently has charges pending in Norwalk, and we’re looking at other charges that are coming to light now in the Sound Shore area where he may have exposed himself.”
The investigation is ongoing and the PD is still working the resolve the June 3 assault at Rye High School. Kopy also thanked his department and various cooperating authorities including the Westchester Department of Public Safety, the Westchester DA and the FBI.
“We would not have been successful had it not been for the leadership of Lieutenant Anfuso or the investigative abilities of Detective Klein, Detective Anderson, Detective Caputo who was not here unfortunately today, as well as the Patrol members who are out there working overtime,” said Kopy. He said Anfuso has been sleeping on the floor of his office, working around the clock on the case.
Olmino is scheduled to be arraigned in Rye City Court Tuesday morning.
VIDEO OF THE RYE PD BRIEFING:
I am disappointed by the response of the Rye Police Department! Had they let the community know that a sexual predator was on the loose and targeting female youth in our community, perhaps this latest incident could have been avoided. There was so little information after the first sexual assault (post prom) it led one to believe that perhaps it was an incident between two students.
I am also annoyed that Dr. Byrne never sent out any communication as the first incident occurred post prom and on school grounds.
I totally agree with the comment from “ I would prefer to stay anonymous“. The Police Department and the Rye School District failed to protect our kids and community. We were not made aware of the first assault that happened on school grounds. Superintendent Byrne notifies us when a smoke detector goes off in the cafeteria, yet we received no notification about a sexual assault that happened to a student on school grounds. Unbelievable!
I agree with the concern about communication with the community regarding the sexual assaults, but I also can’t get the image of Lieutenant Anfuso sleeping on his office floor during the investigation out of my mind. That is true selfless dedication and it is so much appreciated. Having worked as a proposal writer for a startup, I spent a few nights on the floor of my own office, and can attest to the discomfort and to the sense of urgency that must have driven him.
The assault on June 3 did not take place on school grounds. If you read the press release provided by the Rye Police (https://www.ryeny.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/16297/638215532942370000), you will see that it took place on Boston Post Road, near the football field. As a result, the school district and Superintendent Byrne were given no information other than what was publicly released by the police as they were conducting their investigation. It would not be appropriate for the RCSD to communicate about an active police investigation.
With all due respect, Ms Derman, I don’t think one person believes the District had no further info. A few weeks ago many people from Rye saw the police planted at the turf stairs for more than 6 hours looking for clues! As far as i know, the Turf belongs to the school. For the District to throw up their hands and say they knew nothing is simply untrue . The police as well as the District had a duty to notify residents. This assault happened to a RYE student- after a RHS event- even if the crime was 10ft from school property!! Where was the info about stepped up patrols? Safety training for our youth? Not being transparent in a situation like this was a bad choice. There was a missed opportunity here to not only possibly prevent the second assault from happening but also for educating our children.