In October 2012 , Elisa Lopez was sexually assaulted while napping on a subway train in New York City , and the entire incident was caught on video and spread online like wildfire . Late last week , more than two years after the shocking attack , Ms Lopez was finally vindicated when police apprehended her alleged molester , identified as 43-year-old Carlos Chuva . The Queens resident was arrested last Thursday and charged with first-degree felony aggravated sexual assault . Scroll down for video . Vile attack : On October 20 , 2012 , Elisa Lopez ( right ) was sleeping aboard a downtown 4 train when a middle-aged man sat next to her and stuck his hand up her skirt ( left ) . The entire incident was caught on video . Groper : The denim-clad stranger got off the train and vanished after Lopez punched him in the face and fled . According to a criminal complaint cited by Gothamist , the suspect admitted that he was the attacker when officers showed a screen grab from the infamous subway video . The vile attack took place at around 4am October 20 , 2012 , aboard a downtown 4 train near Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan . Elisa Lopez , then a 21-year-old member of the Air National Guard , was on her way downtown to meet her boyfriend after attending a party in The Bronx when she briefly dozed off on the train , instinctively clutching her purse . She woke up moments later to discover a stranger caressing her thigh and face and trying to kiss her . The terrified straphanger punched the pervert in the face and fled the subway . She did not realize the extent of the sexual assault she had endured until a work friend sent her the graphic video shot by a fellow passenger aboard the 4 train . Justice for Elisa : more than two years later , police arrested 43-year-old Carlos Chuvo ( left ) , charging him with aggravated sexual assault of Elisa Lopez . The grainy cell phone footage recorded by Brooklyn man Jasheem Smiley depicts a middle-aged man dressed in a faded denim jacket and jeans shoving his hand under the sleeping woman 's skirt and groping her . The 18-second clip of the attack quickly went viral , earning Smiley public censure for capturing the assault on his iPhone instead of trying to stop it . Smiley released another video on his YouTube channel just days later defending his actions that night . Bystander : Jasheem Smiley faced backlash for capturing the video on his cell phone instead of trying to help Lopez . ‘ There were 10 other people on the train that did n't do anything , ’ he explained . ‘ I was the one that did the most. ’ Smiley pointed out that after the groper got off the train , he notified the conductor about what happened and went to the police with the video . But according to the man , officers became interested in the case only after he uploaded the footage online and it attracted media attention . The assault witness explained that had he physically intervened , the suspect could have accused him of attacking him without any provocation . Smiley also claimed he was concerned for his own safety because he did not known if the middle-aged pervert had a gun or a knife or him . ‘ God knows I did the best I can , ’ he said in the video . He did mention that he repeatedly tried waking Lopez , but the woman continued sleeping after a night out drinking with friends . On her part , Elisa Lopez broke her silence about the attack this past December , telling Cosmopolitan that she was in disbelief when she first saw Smiley 's footage . ‘ I felt sick to my stomach . I was yelling , screaming . I was hysterical , ’ she recalled . Determined to see her abuser behind bars , Lopez released a video of her own explaining the circumstances of the attack and launched a Facebook campaign appealing to fellow users for help in bringing the subway groper to justice . Silent no more : After seeing that her case was going nowhere , Lopez , a college student and member of the Air National Guard , went public with her story in December . Survivor : The 23-year-old woman has spent the past two years getting treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder , night terrors and depression caused by the shocking assault . Lopez said she has been grappling with post-traumatic stress disorder , depression and night terrors for the past two years . She also can not bear using the subway . Initially , she was hesitant to seek psychological treatment for fear of being ejected from the Air National Guard , but after realizing she was having suicidal thoughts , Lopez decided to go and find herself a therapist . She also turned to art to help her cope with the trauma and adopted a puppy and a calico kitten . She is currently enrolled in the City College of New York . In an interview with Pix11 about Carlos Chuva ’ s long-awaited arrest , Lopez suggested she now has come full circle , more than two years after the night that changed her life . ‘ I 'm at a point where i can say that i am ready to move forward with this , ’ she said with a smile .
Carlos Chuva , 43 , of Queens , charged with first-degree felony aggravated sexual assault . Chuva is accused of groping Elisa Lopez aboard downtown 4 train October 20 , 2012 . Attack on Lopez was videotaped by fellow passenger Jasheem Smiley and then shared online . Smiley faced backlash for failing to help Lopez but claimed he was concerned for his own safety . Lopez , an the Air National Guard and college student , went public about attack in December 2014 .