FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Sexually Abusing Woman After Dragging Her into an Alleyway in Bushwick
Defendant Grabbed the Victim as She Walked to Laundromat
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Bushwick man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexually abusing a young woman after dragging her into an alleyway at knife point.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “The defendant’s guilty plea spared the victim from testifying in court about this horrific attack and the sentence imposed holds him accountable for his actions. I am committed to bringing to justice sexual predators like this defendant who commit such brutal acts of violence against women.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Thomas Gallishaw, 25, of Bushwick, Brooklyn. He was sentenced yesterday to 15 years in prison and 10 years’ post-release supervision by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Matthew D’Emic. The defendant, who pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree robbery on July 1, 2020, must register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.
The District Attorney said that, according to the evidence, on June 12, 2018, at approximately 10:30 p.m., the defendant targeted a 23-year-old female victim in front of 28 Stuyvesant Avenue, in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The victim had just exited a nearby building and was walking to a laundromat. The defendant placed his arm around her neck and placed a knife to her neck. He then dragged her to the alleyway in the rear of the building, threw her to the ground and sexually abused her.
A neighbor heard a commotion in the alleyway and called 911, according to the investigation, at which time the defendant fled with the victim’s iPhone and purse. When the police arrived, a responding officer passed the defendant on the way out of the alleyway. After seeing the woman crying on the ground, the officer called out to the sergeant on the scene to stop him from leaving. As the sergeant tried to stop him, the defendant fled. He was pursued by police, who eventually located him using the Find My iPhone app on the victim’s iPhone. The phone and a knife were recovered on the defendant when he was apprehended.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Linda Weinman, of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau, under the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Miss Gregory, Bureau Chief.
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