Bronx Man Gropes Victim, 29, Near Fordham Road, Flees in White Mazda

A 29-year-old man was grabbed from behind and forcibly touched near Lorillard Place and East Fordham Road in the Bronx on Sunday, August 16, at approximately 8:35 a.m., according to police, who say the unidentified attacker then fled the scene in a white Mazda. The suspect remains at large more than a week later, and investigators are asking the public for help identifying him.

According to NYPD Crime Stoppers, the victim was approached from behind by the unidentified individual, who grabbed his private area over his clothing before fleeing southbound on Lorillard Place toward parts unknown in the white Mazda. The incident happened within the confines of the 48th Precinct, which patrols the Belmont, East Tremont, Bathgate, and West Farms sections of the Bronx.

🚨WANTED FOR A FORCIBLE TOUCHING: On Sunday, August 16, 2026, at approximately 8:35 A.M., in the vicinity of Lorillard Place and East Fordham Road, in the confines of the 48 Precinct in the Bronx, a 29-year-old male victim was approached from behind by an unidentified individual… pic.twitter.com/w0PhP6bOj0

— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) August 26, 2026

The intersection sits in the heart of Belmont, a densely packed commercial and residential corridor just south of Fordham University and adjacent to Arthur Avenue, according to Forgotten New York. The area sees heavy foot traffic throughout the day, and the attack took place in broad daylight during the height of the Sunday morning commute.

A Precinct Under New Scrutiny

The 48th Precinct stationhouse at 450 Cross Bronx Expressway was tapped in May to serve as headquarters for the NYPD's newly formed Patrol Borough Bronx North command, a reorganization detailed by NYC.gov. The precinct logged 9,816 total reported crimes in 2025, among the higher tallies of any Bronx command, per data compiled by bkcb6.app. That administrative shift has put added focus on public safety in the neighborhood even as detectives work through this latest unsolved case.

This is not the first time this stretch of East Fordham Road has drawn a Crime Stoppers alert for forcible touching this year. Hoodline previously reported on a nighttime groping search along the same corridor in July, as well as a separate morning attack near East 182nd Street that same month. Neither of those cases has been publicly resolved, according to the dossier of prior coverage.

What Charges the Suspect Could Face

Under New York Penal Law § 130.52, forcible touching is classified as a Class A misdemeanor, defined as intentionally touching another person's sexual or intimate parts without a legitimate purpose to degrade, abuse, or achieve sexual gratification, according to Saland Law. A conviction carries a maximum sentence of up to one year in jail or as much as six years of probation, though the Fast Law Firm, P.C. notes that mandatory sex offender registration under SORA only applies when the victim is under 18 — meaning it would not apply in this case given the victim's age.

Prosecutors and investigators also face a ticking clock. Because forcible touching against an adult victim is a Class A misdemeanor, New York Criminal Procedure Law § 30.10 gives law enforcement a two-year statute of limitations to file charges, according to RAINN. That window underscores the urgency behind the NYPD's public appeal for tips, even weeks after the alleged assault.

Part of a Wider Pattern in the Bronx

Citywide, the NYPD logged 8,612 sex crime complaints in 2024, with misdemeanor-level offenses like forcible touching making up roughly 78.1 percent of all non-rape sex crime complaints, per reporting on Mayor's Office statistics by Lebedin Kofman LLP. While such crimes disproportionately affect women, CDC survey data cited by the agency shows that an estimated 8 percent of American men — about 9 million people — have experienced unwanted sexual contact during their lifetime, a reminder that male victims like the one in this case are far from rare.

The case adds to a string of recent forcible touching investigations across the Bronx that Hoodline has tracked in recent weeks, including a Soundview elevator groping case involving a 16-year-old victim and an unsolved Inwood attack near West 213th Street. None of the suspects in those cases have been publicly identified either.

How to Report Information

NYPD Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $3,500 for anonymous tips leading to an arrest and indictment in the case. The program is administered independently through private donations to the nonprofit New York City Police Foundation, which oversees the reward funding.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish speakers, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website or by direct message to @NYPDTips on X. All calls are strictly confidential.