Religious Leader Drugged And Raped Women In Brooklyn, DA Says

FLATBUSH, BROOKLYN -- A religious goods store owner drugged and rape two women during "religious ceremonies" in his Flatbush home, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.

Nigel Kennedy, 51, was arraigned on rape charges Wednesday for "rituals" in East Flatbush apartments that involved chanting, billowing smoke and drinking a clear liquid that rendered his two victims unconscious, prosecutors said.

Kennedy brought a 42-year-old woman to an East 52nd Street apartment for a church ceremony on Aug. 30, 2016, at about 10 p.m., said prosecutors.

The woman watched Kennedy chant loudly before he told her to drink something that tasted like alcohol and caused her to black out, according to prosecutors.

She briefly regained consciousness and felt a person on top of her, but was unable to move and passed out again, prosecutors said.

When the woman awoke at 5 a.m. to find herself naked, nauseous, dizzy and in a bed, Kennedy told her he didn't know how she got there, prosecutors said.

A second woman, 28, arrived at Kennedy's East 32nd Street home on May 16, 2018, at about 10:30 a.m. for a spiritual reading, prosecutors said.

Kennedy blew smoke in her face, poured an unknown liquid down her throat and, when the woman became dizzy and threw up, he forced her to drink the liquid again, prosecutors said.

The woman passed out, then awoke to find Kennedy had taken of her pants was having sex with her, prosecutors said.

When she tried to push him off, Kennedy refused to move and said, “Relax, it’s part of the ritual.”

Both women went to nearby hospitals where doctors conducted sexual assault evidence collection kits and found traces of the same male DNA, according to prosecutors.

Kennedy was arrested on Sept. 7 at John F. Kennedy Airport, after returning from a trip to Trinidad, and arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Wednesday, prosecutors said.

The East Flatbush man could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top charge on a 13-count indictment that includes charges of rape and sexual abuse, according to prosecutors.

He was ordered held on $35,000 bail and to return to court on Dec. 11, said prosecutors.

Anyone who may have been victimized by Kennedy is asked to call the the Brooklyn District Attorney's action center at 718-250-2340.

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