A woman who was raped in her Brooklyn building by a would-be deliverista bravely chased the suspect, believed to be an undocumented immigrant, twice: once after the harrowing attack, then again after he returned to get his e-bike, prosecutors said Wednesday.
After raping the victim, suspect Reynaldo Mayna Cordero, 35, fled the building so fast he didn’t have time to hop on his bike to get away, officials said. But he came back for it a short time later, only to be confronted again by the woman he had earlier attacked, officials said after cops used his e-bike to track and arrest him.
“I need help and I can’t control myself,” Cordero told cops after he was taken into custody, according to prosecutors.
Cordero was arraigned Wednesday in Brooklyn Criminal Court on rape, sexual abuse, and other related charges.
While his attorney from Brooklyn Defenders said Cordero worked for DoorDash, a company spokesperson said Wednesday it had found no connection between Cordero and the company.
Cordero’s defense attorney said he had been working as a deliverista “for the last six months.”
“He supports four children, ages 10 and under,” the attorney said.
Cordero’s wife, seated in court, cried throughout the arraignment.
Judge Keshia Espinal set his bail at $200,000 cash or $500,000 bond. His next court date is Nov. 6.
The feds have filed a detainer against Cordero because he entered the country illegally in 2023 after leaving Peru, police sources say. An email to the Department of Homeland Security about Cordero’s immigration status was not immediately returned.
Cops said Cordero slapped the victim on the butt on the street early Sunday morning as he rode by her near Willoughby and Bedford Aves. in Bedford-Stuyvesant around 12:30 a.m.
Prosecutors said Cordero then returned a short time later. As the woman was punching in the entry code to the building’s front door, he told her he had a delivery for her and followed her inside. She was walking up the staircase when, from behind her, she heard the sound of a zipper being unzipped. Cordero then raped her on the stairs, prosecutors said.
But the victim managed to fight back and land a punch, scaring off the attacker, who fled the building. Instead of seeking the safety of her apartment, the woman gave chase for several blocks before abandoning her pursuit, calling 911 and then getting help at Woodhull Hospital.
After she met with police and returned home, she spotted her attacker again and gave chase once more, but couldn’t catch up with him, though she did record him, prosecutors said.
Cops subpoenaed the e-bike company Cordero used and received subscriber information and GPS coordinates, which placed the e-bike at the location, officials said.
The company provided a photo of the suspect’s passport, and cops used GPS to track the bike and Cordero, who was arrested several days later in Manhattan.
Officials said he admitted touching the woman’s backside, but denied raping her in the building.
“I grabbed her butt,” Cordero told cops, according to prosecutors. “She hit me. I ran away. She ran after me.”
Cops also said Cordero told them he had an order for the woman, but that it was canceled.
Cordero’s attorney said that, before working as a deliverista, the suspect was a street vendor in different locations in Manhattan and New Jersey.
Cordero has one prior arrest, a domestic violence case from last year, police said. The case was later sealed.