Bushwick Man Raped Woman At Knifepoint In Alley, DA Says

BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN — A Bushwick man who dragged a woman into an alley and raped her at knifepoint has been charged, prosecutors announced.

Thomas Gallishaw, 23, stands accused of attacking a 23-year-old woman on the corner of Stuyvesant Avenue and Willoughby Street on June 12 at about 10:30 p.m., according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.

The woman was headed to the laundromat when Gallishaw threw his arm around her neck and put his knife against her throat, prosecutors said.

Gallishaw dragged her into an alley behind her house, threw her to the ground and raped her, said prosecutors.

A neighbor heard the woman’s screams and called 911, but Gallishaw grabbed his victim’s iPhone and purse and managed to escape the police officers who arrived at the scene, prosecutors said.

One police officer passed Gallishaw as he was leaving the alley, and only realized who he was when he saw the 23-year-old woman crying on the ground, said prosecutors.

He called out for another officer to stop the man, but Gallishaw fled, prosecutors said.

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

Investigators also discovered that Gallishaw had attacked a woman in Bed-Stuy less than an hour before he rapped the Bushwick woman, prosecutors said.

Gallishaw pulled a knife on a 32-year-old woman on the corner of Kosciousko Street and Nostrand Avenue at approximately 9:45 p.m., prosecutors said.

The woman’s boyfriend caught him soon after he’d thrown her to the ground and climbed on top of her, so Gallishaw fled, prosecutors said.

Gallishaw was arraigned on 26 counts of rape, robbery, sexual abuse and other charges in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Wednesday and held on a $1 million bail, prosecutors said.

The Bushwick man faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock