From the New York Post: The violent vagrant arrested for attacking a 20-year-old NYU coed in an unprovoked attack Monday morning has a troubling history of cowardly assaults on women, The Post has learned.
James Rizzo, a 45-year-old homeless brute with 16 prior busts, including for sexual abuse and forcible touching — and even a 1997 murder rap — was charged Tuesday evening with shoving college student Amelia Lewis to the ground as she walked to class in Lower Manhattan on Monday morning.
The serial creep was slapped with persistent sexual abuse, forcible touching and assault charges for the random attack on the 20-year-old, cops said.
Rizzo was connected to the crime after cops “caught him in the act” of burglarizing an apartment near Washington Square Park on Tuesday, police said.
Police added that they have charged Rizzo with four burglaries all in the same building, including three which occurred as residents inside were sleeping.
Rizzo had just been freed from prison in September after serving a two-year sentence for sexual abuse. But he went straight back to his criminal behavior.
Monday morning around 9:30, as Lewis was walking to class, Rizzo ran up behind her, slapped her hard on her buttocks, then grabbed her by her hair and slammed her to the ground.
Lewis later posted a tearful video on social media, explaining her horror and shock over the attack.
Podcast host Megyn Kelly commented on the attack on X, saying that Lewis is a “friend of a friend.”
In another post, Kelly wrote, “Congrats to the @NYPDnews for MAKING AN ARREST of the accused NYU SEXUAL ABUSER – 45-year-old James Rizzo – who allegedly has been assaulting young women on/around campus! @AmeliaLewi33832 who bravely reported this crime and refused to allow herself to be a victim went public with the story, her friends called it to our attention and all of you put the pressure on so this case wasn’t lost in the shuffle.”
Congrats to the @NYPDnews for MAKING AN ARREST of the accused NYU SEXUAL ABUSER – 45-year-old James Rizzo – who allegedly has been assaulting young women on/around campus! @AmeliaLewi33832 who bravely reported this crime and refused to allow herself to be a victim went public…
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) December 2, 2025
On Tuesday, Lewis announced, “Looking forward to sharing my experience tomorrow on the Megyn Kelly Show. I am proud to have a voice and let people know that it is NOT OK what happened to me. Thank you for all your support and effort which led to his arrest.”
Looking forward to sharing my experience tomorrow on the Megyn Kelly Show. I am proud to have a voice and let people know that it is NOT OK what happened to me. Thank you for all your support and effort which led to his arrest. https://t.co/sfU4DWaOhu
— Amelia Lewis (@AmeliaLewi33832) December 2, 2025
Lewis added, “We all have a voice. No matter who you are you can make a difference. Thanks to all of our and NYPD’s efforts we were able to get one more criminal and sexual abuser off NYC streets. I am in a much better place than I was Monday morning knowing this perpetrator won’t hurt any more young women.”
We all have a voice. No matter who you are you can make a difference.
Thanks to all of our and NYPD’s efforts we were able to get one more criminal and sexual abuser off NYC streets.
I am in a much better place than I was Monday morning knowing this perpetrator won’t hurt any…
— Amelia Lewis (@AmeliaLewi33832) December 3, 2025
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