Man Who Forced Girlfriend To Walk Naked Through Harlem Convicted

HARLEM, NY — A man who assaulted his ex-girlfriend and then forced her to walk naked down a Harlem street will face jail time, the Manhattan District Attorney's office said Friday.

Jasson Melo, 26, was convicted Friday on criminal charges including felony coercion, third-degree assault, endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated harassment, prosecutors announced. Melo is expected to be sentenced in January.

On a cold January day in 2016, Melo videotaped his former girlfriend as she walked down West 142nd Street wearing nothing but a towel, prosecutors said. Melo verbally abused the woman as she made her way down the street and eventually pulled the towel off her, prosecutors said

"To further degrade her, he recorded the ordeal, then had the audacity to brag about his actions, sharing the video with multiple friends and even attempting to profit from it," District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement. "This defendant has never demonstrated an ounce of remorse for his disgusting and violent conduct."

Hours before Melo forced his ex-girlfriend to walk the street naked, he returned home at 5 a.m. after a night out, prosecutors said. Melo and the woman argued for hours after he got home. During the argument Melo punched the woman in the face, body and genitals as their two-year-old daughter was in the apartment, prosecutors said.

The day after the assault, the woman called the police and was treated for pain, bruising, redness and swelling, prosecutors said.

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