OAN Staff Cory Hawkins
4:00 PM – Wednesday, December 3, 2025
A 45-year-old homeless man with a lengthy history of sex crimes and violence against women was arrested on Tuesday after a brazen daylight assault on a 20-year-old New York University student just steps from the school’s Manhattan campus.
James Rizzo, 45, obtained his 17th arrest on Tuesday after attacking NYU sophomore student Amelia Lewis, 20.
According to the report, Rizzo quickly approached the NYU sophomore as she walked to class, slapped her forcefully on the buttocks, then struck her head, knocking her to the ground.
“I just really want to emphasize how not OK this is. I am a student at NYU. I should not be scared to be walking the street to go to my 9:30 a.m. class. These people are disgusting, and they should not be able to be walking around the street freely targeting girls and doing this. Cause I heard that this guy did this a month ago,” Lewis said on a TikTok video, where she further discussed the incident with her friends, family, and online followers.
Police say Rizzo is listed on New York’s Sex Offender Registry as a Level 2 offender, with two publicly accessible mugshots. According to the registry, he was convicted in March 2023 for forcing himself onto another person’s intimate parts during an assault that occurred the month before.
“The University is pleased that a suspect has been apprehended in the attack on one of its students that took place Monday morning on a Broadway sidewalk,” NYU spokesperson John Beckman exclaimed. “We take this incident very seriously. We are continuing to offer support to the student, and our Campus Safety Department assisted the victim and worked with the police investigating the incident.”
Following the most recent incident, Rizzo was later arrested and charged with persistent sexual abuse, forcible touching, and assault. 16 prior arrests of his similarly involved sex offenses or sexual misconduct, a law enforcement source reported.
Just days before the attack on the NYU student, Rizzo also purportedly shoved a 68-year-old woman as she walked along Fifth Avenue at around 8:45 p.m. on Thanksgiving. In what investigators described as an unprovoked assault, he reportedly struck her with his elbow so forcefully that she fell to the ground and suffered a deep cut.
He was also charged with burglary in connection with a separate incident in a nearby building, with some reports indicating multiple counts. New York authorities stated that they found Rizzo “in the act” as he was burglarizing an apartment near Washing Square Park on Tuesday. Police connected Rizzo to four other burglaries committed at the same location, all around 1 a.m. on Tuesday.
Victims of the theft include a 28-year-old man who woke up to find his suitcase and backpack gone. Another unnamed man, 29, had three laptops, headphones, and his backpack stolen. Lastly, a 58-year-old woman had $3,150 in items taken, police added.
“I just feel very lucky,” the unidentified woman attacked on Thanksgiving said on Wednesday. “[I’m] very lucky that he didn’t have a weapon or that it didn’t happen in the subway station and throw me on the tracks.”
In addition to the burglary charges, police have since announced that he faces assault counts for both attacks, as well as sexual abuse and forcible touching stemming from the assault on Lewis.
Rizzo declined to comment as he was walked out of the 6th precinct in handcuffs on Tuesday night.
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