New York woman gets justice two years after her sexual assault was filmed on the subway

A social media effort resulted in the capture of the man who allegedly assaulted a woman in 2012

(Youtube)

Elisa Lopez was asleep on the New York City subway early in the morning on 20 October, 2012 when the stranger sitting next to her began to molest her. Ms Lopez awoke during the assault, punched her attacker in the face and got off the train.

Another passenger on the train recorded the assault and posted the video on the internet, but it still took two and a half years and a social media effort before the man who allegedly assaulted Ms Lopez was caught, according to Gothamist.

New York police arrested Carlos Chuva last week and charged him with first-degree aggravated sexual abuse. Mr Chuva reportedly was shown a still photo from the video taken during the assault and told authorities that it was him in the photo.

Ms Lopez said she did not know the extent of the assault until she saw the video online. The clip shows a middle-age man in a denim jacket groping a sleeping Ms Lopez. Warning, the video below contains graphic images.

After she saw the video, Ms Lopez posted the above video and launched a Facebook effort aimed at catching the assailant, which ultimately was successful.

New York police have not said how they were able to identify Mr Chuva, who lives in the New York borough of Queens.

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