Cops arrest Richmond Hill spa rape suspect

Luchiano Crooks, 26, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with first-degree rape, along with robbery and criminal sex act charges. Photo via NYPD.

By Jonathan Sperling

A Queens man suspected of robbing and raping a Richmond Hill massage parlor employee at knifepoint has been arrested, police said late Tuesday night.

Luchiano Crooks, 26, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with first-degree rape, along with robbery and criminal sex act charges.

Around 24 hours earlier, Crooks came to Vivi Massage Spa on Jamaica Avenue and went to a massage room to await the masseuse, a 45-year-old woman, cops said. When the woman entered the room, Crooks allegedly brandished a knife and demanded cash, at which point the woman gave him $100.

Crooks then allegedly raped the woman before ultimately fleeing on foot.

Surveillance images of a man who cops say is Crooks were circulated by the 102nd Precinct shortly after the incident. 

EMS took the masseuse to NYC Health & Hospitals/Queens, where she was treated and released.

Reports of rape, as well as other sex crimes, have declined across Queens compared to 2019, according to the most recent NYPD data. Rape reports have dropped nearly 27 percent so far in 2020 compared to the same time last year, from 45 to 33, in each of Queens’ two patrol areas. In the 102nd Precinct, there was one report of rape so far in 2020, down from 6 during the same period in 2019.