BROOKLYN, NY — A Canarsie man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after he followed a woman from a Kensington bar, carried her into an alley and sexually assaulted her before an off-duty police officer intervened.
Janeal Figueroa, 26, was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree sexual abuse after a jury trial in May.
The incident happened April 7, 2023, after the 35-year-old victim went out for drinks with friends and later continued drinking alone at a bar on Beverley Road in Kensington.
Around 10:30 p.m., Figueroa allegedly watched the woman leave the bar and followed her as she walked home.
Surveillance video showed Figueroa putting his arm around the woman and carrying her into an alley near East 2nd Street and Church Avenue as she screamed for help.
Prosecutors said that once inside the alley, he violently assaulted the woman, held her on the ground and subjected her to oral sexual conduct. When she tried to escape, Figueroa allegedly grabbed her ankles and pulled her back.
An eyewitness flagged down an off-duty police officer from Maryland, who intervened and ordered Figueroa out of the alley. Prosecutors said Figueroa attempted to flee but then bragged to the officer and another witness about the assault.
NYPD officers arrested him nearby shortly afterward, and the off-duty officer identified him as the attacker.
Today's sentence holds the defendant accountable for his horrific crime, demonstrates our commitment to the protection of vulnerable victims in Brooklyn, and ensures a measure of justice for the innocent woman who was so violently assaulted," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.
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