A 22-year-old Astoria man has been charged with raping a woman in a stairwell at White Plains City Center, the Westchester County District Attorney’s office said.
The accused, Xavier Fonseca Overton, was arraigned Thursday, April 9, on a felony complaint that charges him with five counts of first-degree rape and one count of first-degree sexual abuse, District Attorney Susan Cacace’s office said in a news release Friday, April 10.
Bail was set at $750,000 cash/$1 million bond/$2 million partially-secured bond. The judge issued a temporary order of protection for the victim.
What police say happened
The assault allegedly happened Tuesday night, April 7, into shortly after midnight, April 8.
Overton was in the stairwell at the City Center with the victim, who appeared to be unconscious, according to video surveillance footage of the incident, the release said.
“What the survivor in this case endured in that stairwell is a nightmare come to life,” Cacace said in the release. “The defendant is accused of committing an unmerciful assault while she was at her most vulnerable, unable to consent or even recognize what was happening to her. I commend her for her bravery in coming forward to report this incident, and my office will seek full accountability for the defendant and justice for the survivor. She has the support of my entire office through every phase of this process, as do all survivors of sexual abuse in this county.”
White Plains Department of Public Safety, which investigated the case, said in a Wednesday news release that the woman was taken to a hospital where medical attention and support services were offered.
(This story was updated to bring it up to standard.)
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Queens man charged with raping woman at White Plains City Center
Reporting by Michael P. McKinney, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
