BRONX JURY CONVICTS MAN OF RAPE AND OTHER RELATED CHARGES

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that a 24 year-old Bronx man has been convicted of raping and sodomizing a 20 year-old woman in January 2002.

A jury found Kevin Parsons, of 3932 Wilder Avenue, guilty of Rape in the 1st degree and Sodomy in the 1st degree. Parsons, a predicate felon, faces up to 50 years imprisonment when he appears before Acting State Supreme Court Justice Michael A. Gross for sentencing in Part T11, Friday, May 9, 2003.

The victim testified that the attack occurred on the afternoon of January 4, 2002 after the defendant approached her as she used a pay phone on the corner of Baychester Avenue and 233rd Street. She stated the defendant brandished a knife and forced her to accompany him to an apartment where he raped and sodomized her. Parsons then took the victim’s work ID and told her "I know where you work, if you tell anyone I’ll kill you".

The victim stated that she was allowed to get dressed and was driven to the train station by a friend of the defendant. She later reported the incident to police and was treated at a hospital. The defendant was apprehended early the next day after the victim pointed out the building where she was raped.

Co-defendant Maryann Demeny, 29, also of 3932 Wilder Avenue, pled guilty to Obstructing Governmental Administration, a class "A" misdemeanor which carries a sentence of up to 1 year in jail for destroying the victim’s ID card after the police began their investigation. Sentencing for Demeny is set for May 19, 2003 in Part AP5.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jill S. Starishevsky of the Domestic Violence / Sex Abuse Division.