FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Brooklyn Man Indicted for Rape and Predatory Sexual Assault for
Allegedly Attacking a Woman Near Prospect Park
Defendant Allegedly Grabbed the Victim as She Walked Home;
Sexually Assaulted Her Multiple Times
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a 28-year-old homeless man has been indicted for allegedly attacking a 59-year-old woman in the early morning hours of November 18, 2018 after approaching her from behind and putting her in a chokehold.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “Keeping our streets safe from violent sexual predators is a top priority. I am committed to seeking justice for victims of sexual assault. This was a particularly violent and heinous attack and I commend the victim for her courage in coming forward.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Mowngly Lucas, 28; the defendant was living in a Queens homeless shelter at the time of his arrest. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice William Miller on a 25-count indictment in which he is charged with predatory sexual assault, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse, forcible touching and related charges. He was ordered held on $500,000 bail and to return to court on February 19, 2018. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the top count.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on November 18, 2018, at approximately 5 a.m., the victim, a 59-year-old woman, was walking on Parkside Avenue at Parade Place when she was grabbed from behind by the defendant, who put her in a chokehold and said: “I have a knife. I just got out of jail and I don’t care, so follow what I told you.”
It is alleged that the defendant told the victim to pull down her pants and he raped her. Furthermore, it is alleged that the defendant moved the woman behind a nearby bench and ordered her to get down on her hands and knees and raped her again.
Finally, it is alleged, the defendant put his arm around the victim’s neck, causing her to have difficulty breathing and walked her over to a parked van. He then allegedly broke a window on the van and demanded that the victim get into the van. He then entered the van, sexually abused the victim and raped her a third time. He then allegedly stole money from her purse and fled.
The defendant was arrested by New York City Police Department detectives assigned to the Brooklyn Special Victims Squad on November 28, 2018, following an investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorneys Linda Weinman and Lana Schlesinger, of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau, under the overall 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.