FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 12, 2016
Man who Impersonated a Police Officer and Raped Woman in
Sunset Park Hotel Sentenced to up to 32 Years to Life in Prison
Showed a Fake Badge, Went with Victim to Hotel Room, Attacked Her and Took Her Belongings
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a 39-year-old man from Ditmas Park, Brooklyn was sentenced to up to 32 years to life in prison for a violent attack in which he assaulted, raped and robbed a woman inside a hotel room after showing her a fake badge and claiming to be a police officer.
District Attorney Thompson said, “This serial sex offender is a clear and present danger to all women and must not be allowed to be out on our streets. Today’s just and lengthy prison sentence ensures that he will never be able to harm anyone else.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Jason Forgetta, 39, of Ditmas Park, Brooklyn. He was convicted on July 21, 2016 of three counts of predatory sexual assault, second-degree strangulation as a sexually motivated felony, third-degree robbery and first-degree criminal impersonation following a jury trial. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Matthew Sciarrino to 25 years to life in prison for the predatory sexual assault counts plus 3 ½ to 7 years in prison for the robbery count to run consecutively for a total sentence of up to 32 years to life in prison.
The District Attorney said that, according to evidence at trial, on July 30, 2014, at about 2:00 a.m., the victim was walking in the street outside 517 39th Street in Sunset Park, Brooklyn when the defendant stopped his car, presented a police badge and initiated a conversation. The 26-year-old victim, who was a sex worker, agreed to accompany the defendant to a room she had rented in the Sunny 39 Hotel that was in that location at the time.
Once inside the room, the defendant told the victim she was under arrest, shoved her against the wall, put a pillow over her head and repeatedly raped her, according to testimony. He then instructed her to take a shower to “wash all the DNA” off, stole her wallet, cell phone and undergarments and left.
The victim ran after him and was able to observe the license plate number of the vehicle the defendant was driving, leading to his arrest. A fake police badge was recovered from the vehicle. The defendant was deemed a level-3 sex offender following a prior rape conviction.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Lisa Nugent and Lauren Branchini of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Miss Gregory, Chief.
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