An individual apprehended for attempting rape on a Midtown subway train; a woman was rescued by construction workers

A homeless man with more than three dozen arrests and a history of mental illness has been arrested for assaulting and trying to rape a woman on a Midtown subway train, police said Friday.

Tyriek Martin, 34, was on a W train approaching the 42nd St. station in Times Square at about noon Thursday when he grabbed a 34-year-old woman, slammed her head into a pole, then threw her to the floor of the train car and tried to rape her, police said.

Alone on the train with the attacker, the woman put up a fight and when the train pulled into the station she screamed for help, police said. When the doors opened, several construction workers jumped in and grabbed the suspect, holding him down until cops arrived.

The victim, who suffered a fractured nose, was taken to a hospital for treatment.

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Cops charged Martin with attempted rape, sex abuse and misdemeanor assault.

Martin is homeless and is staying at the Bowery Mission, in downtown Manhattan, police said. He’s been arrested more than 40 times on charges including robbery, drug possession, misdemeanor assault and public lewdness.

He was last arrested last Saturday, but that case is sealed. Prior to that, he was busted in August for misdemeanor assault after punching a woman in the head and face, according to the criminal complaint against him.

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In April 2022, police said, Martin was charged with assault for throwing an aerosol can at an NYPD traffic agent. In May 2021, he was again charged with assault after he smashed a 2-year-old child in the face with a suitcase while the child sat in a stroller, police said.

But both those cases were dismissed after he was found unfit to stand trial, said a spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Typically, with such dismissals the suspect is ordered to spend up to 90 days in a mental heath facility. Details in these two cases were not clear Friday.

After the August assault in which he’s accused of punching a woman in the face, Martin was given a desk appearance ticket and later released under supervision, the spokeswoman for the Manhattan DA said. His next court appearance in that case is next Thursday.

His arraignment for attempted rape in Manhattan Criminal Court was pending Friday.

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