FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 18, 2016
Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 45 Years to Life in Prison
For Robbing and Attempting to Rape Woman in Bedford-Stuyvesant
Victim Attacked After Being Followed Into Apartment Building
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a Brooklyn man was sentenced to 45 years to life in prison for attacking a 22-year-old Bedford-Stuyvesant woman and trying to rape her after she entered the lobby of her Myrtle Avenue apartment building.
District Attorney Thompson said, “This defendant cowardly stalked and attacked a defenseless woman and tried to rape her before running off with her cell phone and cash. Today’s sentence holds him accountable and will give him plenty of time to think about his actions.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as John Duncan, 43, of 1419 Bushwick Avenue, in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The defendant was today sentenced to an indeterminate term of 45 years to life in prison by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Ingram. He was convicted on March 21, 2016, of first-degree burglary as a sexually motivated felony, first-degree robbery as a sexually motivated felony, first-degree attempted rape and first-degree sexual abuse following a jury trial.
The District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, on March 10, 2014, at approximately 1:50 p.m., the victim, a 22-year-old woman, who had been grocery shopping, was walking home from the supermarket and entering her apartment building when the defendant grabbed her from behind and put his arm around her throat, and told her he had a gun, not to look at him, and that he wasn’t going to rape her, he was just going to rob her.
The defendant pushed the woman into the lobby of her building, according to trial testimony, and took her cell phone and $60. He pushed her down onto the stairs and pushed her onto her knees, tied her hands behind her back, ripped off her shirt and tore it into pieces and took a piece of her shirt and shoved it down her throat. He put his hand in her bra and then ripped off the bra and used it to cover the victim’s face.
After repeatedly saying he was not going to rape her, according to testimony, the defendant pulled down the victim’s pants and underwear, and began to unbuckle his pants and belt. The victim began pleading loudly with the defendant to stop and let her go and he ran off. The victim then went to her apartment and called 911.
The defendant was ultimately arrested, according to testimony, after surveillance video that was recovered from the supermarket and the streets near the victim’s home showed the defendant following her as she shopped and then following her home. The video was released to the press and an anonymous caller identified the defendant, who subsequently surrendered to police and made incriminating statements.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Bridget K. Brodzinski and Senior Assistant District Attorney Lisa Nugent of the Special Victims Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Miss Gregory, Bureau Chief.
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