Police are searching for a man they say used Nicki Minaj to lure a young girl into his car and sexually assault her.
The incident happened last Sunday afternoon about 2:30 p.m. near Lincoln Street and 116th Avenue in Queens, police said.
A man in a silver SUV drove up to three young girls and told them he was an agent working for Nicki Minaj and he’s looking for models, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
Kelly said he took photos of them, then asked them to get in the car.
One 12-year-old girl complied, Kelly recounted, and he drove her to nearby location and exposed his genitals and sexually assaulted her.
The girl managed to get out of the car and run to a nearby friend’s house, where the friend called 911.
The young girl was treated at Queens General Hospital and released.
Police described the suspect as a black male in his 20s, about 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, with a scruffy beard, black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a white undershirt, a red jacket, red sneakers, a red and white baseball cap and a silver chain hanging to his waist.
Kelly said the NYPD is hoping anyone with information about this man will call their Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). A tip called in to the Crime Stoppers hotline this past summer is what kicked off the investigation that ultimately led to the identification of the girl known for 22 years as “Baby Hope” and the capture of a suspect in her case after more than two decades of police work.
When asked if it is possible the man really did work for Nicki Minaj, the police commissioner was skeptical.
“She’s a fairly well-known person,” he said. “It wouldn’t be unusual for someone to just use that name.”
Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat
