A quick-footed school safety agent chased down a convicted rapist who punched an elderly woman and stole her purse in Queens Tuesday, cops said.
NYPD School Safety Agent Theodore Rampersant and another agent were on their way to their Long Island City headquarters when a distraught man flagged down their van on 28th St. by 40th Ave. at about 1:40 p.m.
The man’s 70-year-old co-worker had just been punched in the face, and the man who did it was running away with her purse, cops said.
Rampersant jumped out of the agents’ marked van and chased the crook, who was running south on 28th St., cops said.
The thief — 37-year-old Travis Burton — made a couple of quick turns, but Rampersant ran towards Queens Plaza North, suspecting the thief would re-emerge there.
Sure enough, he caught up with Burton, took him to the ground and arrested him, police said.
The woman’s large purse was stashed underneath his jacket, cops said.
Burton, a registered sex offender, was released on parole on Feb. 14, 2017. He was sentenced to 15 years for rape and robbery in 2001, after raping a woman at knifepoint on Sept. 26, 2000.
He’s now charged with robbery, assault and resisting arrest.
His alleged victim, who suffered a swollen eye and lip, was hospitalized and declined to speak to reporters Thursday.
“I just want to get over it — I don’t want to rehash what happened,” said the woman, who didn’t want to be named.
“I’m OK, I’m alive. That’s the most important thing.”
With Thomas Tracy
