FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, July 25, 2022
Queens Man Sentenced to 50 Years to Life in Prison for
Violent Sexual Assaults in Brooklyn
Attacked Three Women at Gunpoint during Early Morning Crime Spree
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Queens man has been sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting two women and attempting to assault a third woman, all at gunpoint, in three separate attacks in East New York in 2017. The defendant was convicted in March following a jury trial.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This was a violent and disturbing series of attacks that targeted and traumatized three innocent women. With today’s sentencing this defendant has now been held accountable for his actions, and our communities are safer now that he has been taken off the street. I remain committed to seeking justice for all victims of sexual assault in Brooklyn.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Keith Wiggins, 31, of South Ozone Park, Queens. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Donald Leo to 50 years to life in prison. The defendant was convicted of four counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of first-degree burglary as a sexually motivated felony, one count of first-degree sexual abuse, one count of second-degree menacing, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child on March 23, 2022, following a jury trial.
The District Attorney said that, according to the evidence, on October 10, 2017, at 6:45 a.m., in the vicinity of 609 Fountain Avenue, the defendant approached a 29-year-old woman as she was walking to work, displayed a silver firearm, and ordered her into a lot behind a van. He then ordered her to remove her clothing, raped her, and forced her to perform a sex act, while pointing a gun at her head. He then fled the location in a Dodge Caravan.
Shortly thereafter, at approximately 7:13 a.m., in the vicinity of 675 Lincoln Avenue, the defendant approached a 15-year-old girl as she was walking to school, displayed a silver firearm and ordered her to turn around or he would shoot her. The victim fled and the defendant left the area.
Finally, at 8:30 a.m., in East New York, the defendant approached a 30-year-old woman as she was walking to work, displayed a silver firearm and ordered her inside of her residence. Once inside the hallway, the defendant forced the woman to perform a sex act while pointing a gun at her head. He then fled the location in a Dodge Caravan.
The police tracked down the defendant attempting to return the Dodge Caravan to a rental agency at John F. Kennedy Airport later that morning.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Kevin O’Donnell, Deputy Bureau Chief of the Special Victims Bureau, and Senior Assistant District Attorney Deborah Cohen, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Miss Gregory, Bureau Chief.