Man charged with attempted rape of person who died on a New York City subway train

NEW YORK (AP) — A man was charged with attempted rape after surveillance video taken aboard a New York City subway train showed him performing sexual acts on an unresponsive passenger who was later determined to have died.

Felix Rojas, 44, was arraigned Tuesday, three weeks after authorities said he abused the male victim inside a subway car as it traveled from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Rojas was arrested Sunday.

He is also charged with attempted grand larceny. Rojas did not enter a plea. The public defender’s office representing him said it was looking into the circumstances of the case and did not comment further.

The victim had boarded the train on April 8 and rode for hours earlier and appeared to lose consciousness by 10:50 p.m., according to security camera video.

Rojas showed up on the train about a half hour later and performed abusive acts, stopping and resuming as the train made stops and other passengers got on and off, a police detective wrote in a criminal complaint.

“After seeing that the victim continued to remain motionless, the defendant decided to take advantage of the situation,” Assistant District Attorney Antonio Melchionna said during the arraignment, according to the New York Daily News.

A judge ordered Rojas detained at the arraignment.

A transit worker discovered the man motionless on the floor soon after the assault and he was declared dead by rescue workers. Authorities have not made clear when he died. A cause of death has not been released.