A suspect wanted for following a stranger into a Manhattan apartment building and raping her in a stairwell has been nabbed — thanks to a tip from his own step-family, a police source said Monday.
Jamel McIver, 30, was free without bail on a Bronx sex abuse charge when he allegedly raped the woman Saturday, records show.
In the earlier Bronx case, he is accused of climbing up a fire escape, entering the bedroom of a 16-year-old girl and forcing her to touch his genitals over his pants, police sources said.
McIver was arrested Sunday for the rape and sexually-motivated burglary on the Upper West Side the day before.
McIver, who immediately asked for a lawyer and made no statements when nabbed, is accused of following the 21-year-old victim into a building near West End Ave. and W. 65th St. about 1:20 a.m. Saturday, cornering her in an elevator and threatening to kill her.
He then forced her out of the elevator and into a stairwell, where he raped her before fleeing, according to cops.
The victim was treated at a nearby hospital.
Later that day, the NYPD released surveillance footage of the suspect and asked the public’s help identifying him, leading to the tip from his step-family.
McIver has a number of prior arrests, including the sex abuse case in the Bronx in April 2019 in which he was also charged with sexually-motivated burglary and acting in a manner injurious to a child.
Records show he was initially ordered held on $250,00 bail but then released without bail on March 24, 2020, when an order of protection was issued.
McIver, plead guilty to burglary on Sept. 3, 2022, and is due back in court in the Bronx case March 29.
His arraignment for the new arrest was pending in Manhattan Criminal Court Monday. He listed as his residence Odyssey House, a drug treatment center in East Harlem.