Brooklyn Man Gets 15 Years In Prison For Alleyway Sexual Assault

BROOKLYN, NY — A Brooklyn man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman after dragging her into an alley has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, prosecutors announced.

Thomas Gallishaw, 25, was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison and 10 years post-release supervision for the 2018 assault on a 23-year-old woman on Stuyvesant Avenue.

The woman had been heading to the laundromat when Gallishaw threw his arm around her neck, put a knife to her throat and dragged her to an alley behind her building, prosecutors said. He then threw the woman to the ground and sexually assaulted her.

Gallishaw pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree robbery for taking the woman's phone and purse when he was caught by a neighbor.

“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," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. "I am committed to bringing to justice sexual predators like this defendant who commit such brutal acts of violence against women.”

Gallishaw had run away from the alleyway with the woman's phone and purse when a neighbor who heard a commotion in the alleyway called 911, prosecutors said.

One police officer who arrived at the scene passed Gallishaw as he was leaving the alley, realizing who he was when he saw the 23-year-old woman crying on the ground. He called out for another officer to stop the man, but Gallishaw fled, prosecutors said.

Investigators caught up with him again by using the Find My iPhone app on the woman's cellphone, said prosecutors.

They found the phone and a knife on Gallishaw when he was arrested, prosecutors said.

The 25-year-old, who is from Bushwick, must register as a sex offender when he is released from prison.