FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Self-Proclaimed Spiritual Leader Indicted for Raping
Two Women After Incapacitating Them
Had Victims Drink Liquid that Caused Them to Pass Out;
Each Woke up While Allegedly Being Raped by the Defendant
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a 51-year-old man from East Flatbush, Brooklyn has been indicted on rape and related charges for allegedly incapacitating two women during religious ceremonies on two separate occasions, causing them to lose consciousness and then having intercourse without their consent.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “We allege that this defendant is a sexual predator who used his religious stature to lure women, then drugged and raped them. We will now seek to hold him accountable for these despicable alleged acts, and I encourage anyone else who may have been victimized by him to call the DA’s Action Center at 718-250-2340.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Nigel Kennedy, 51, of East Flatbush, Brooklyn. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice William Miller on a 13-count indictment in which he is charged with first- and third-degree rape, first- and second-degree sexual abuse and other related charges. He was ordered held on $35,000 bail and to return to court on December 11, 2018. The defendant faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top count.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, the defendant used to own a religious goods store and holds himself out as a religious and spiritual leader. He allegedly met the victims in this case at the store.
On August 30, 2016, at about 10 p.m., a 42-year-old woman accompanied the defendant to an apartment on East 52nd Street in East Flatbush for the purpose of a church ceremony. The defendant allegedly started chanting and poured a clear liquid that tasted like alcohol into the victim’s mouth. The victim lost consciousness and, when she came to, felt a person on top of her but was unable to move. She lost consciousness again and woke up at 5 a.m. the next day, naked on a bed, the evidence shows. The defendant allegedly told her he didn’t know how she got naked and the victim left, suffering from nausea, vomiting and dizziness throughout the day.
On May 16, 2018, at about 10:30 a.m., a 28-year-old woman went to the defendant’s home on East 32nd Street in East Flatbush for a spiritual reading. The defendant allegedly blew smoke in her face and poured a substance that tasted like alcohol into her mouth. The victim threw up and became dizzy as the defendant poured more liquid into her mouth, according to the evidence. She eventually lost consciousness and, when she woke up, her pants were off and the defendant was having intercourse with her. She tried to push him off but could not. The victim told him to stop but the defendant allegedly refused, telling her, “Relax, it’s part of the ritual.” When he got off of her, the victim left.
Both victims went to the hospital after they were raped, and sexual assault evidence collection kits were conducted. The same male DNA was recovered from both victims. The second victim identified the defendant and he was arrested on September 7, 2018 after arriving at JFK Airport from Trinidad.
The defendant’s DNA came back as a match to the DNA recovered from each of the victims.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Gwen Barnes, of the District Attorney’s Special Victim’s Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Miss Gregory, Bureau Chief.
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An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not a proof of a defendant’s guilt.