FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 7, 2014
Brooklyn Man Indicted For Sexually Assaulting Teenager
While Pretending To Be Police Officer
Defendant Faces Up To 25 Years To Life In Prison If Convicted
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a 47-year-old Brooklyn man has been arraigned on an eight-count indictment in which he is charged with forcing an 18-year-old woman to engage in sex acts and trying to rape her in Bushwick last October while claiming to be a police officer.
District Attorney Thompson said, “This defendant is accused of impersonating a police officer to commit a cowardly and deplorable crime against an innocent young woman. He will now be held accountable for his actions.”
The District Attorney said that the defendant, Walter Barnes, 47, of 2015 East 59th Street, Old Mill Basin, Brooklyn, was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Patricia Williams on an eight-count indictment in which he is charged with two counts of predatory sexual assault, two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act, first-degree attempted rape, two counts of third-degree criminal sexual act and one count of first-degree criminal impersonation. His bail was continued at $200,000 bond or $250,000 cash and he was ordered to return to court on February 27, 2015. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on October 2, 2014, at approximately 6:30 a.m., in the vicinity of Aberdeen Street and Bushwick Avenue, the defendant, who was driving a car, allegedly flagged down an 18-year-old woman who was walking to a store and offered her a ride. Once the woman was inside of his car, the defendant allegedly identified himself as a New York City police officer and threatened to arrest her unless she performed a sex act on him.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, the defendant then allegedly drove the victim to another location and again forced her to perform a sex act. The victim allegedly tried to get out of the car, but the doors were locked; the defendant then allegedly tried to rape her but she was able to grab the car keys from the ignition and escape.
The investigation was conducted by New York City Police Detectives assigned to the Police Impersonation Unit, a division of the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Lisa Nugent of the District Attorney’s Sex Crimes Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Coleen Balbert, Bureau Chief.
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An indictment is an accusation and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.