Manhattan Man Gets 12 Years in Prison for Rape of Trans Woman
Prosecutors presented evidence and testimony at trial that Nicholas Encarnacion sexually assaulted his victim in the stairwell of their apartment building.
A Manhattan man convicted of raping a transgender woman in a Lower East Side apartment stairwell in 2022 has been sentenced to 12 years in state prison.
On August 26, Encarnacion appeared before Judge Kathryn Paek in New York City Criminal Court, where his victim, Siobhan Ebert, delivered a statement before sentencing, according to amNewYork.
Encarnacion and Ebert had been neighbors in the same Two Bridges apartment building on the Lower East Side.
Prosecutors said that during the elevator ride, Encarnacion forced himself on Ebert, kissing and groping her. When she tried to flee, he chased her into a stairwell, shoved her to the ground, and raped her.
Ebert later called police and was treated for pain, bleeding, and inflammation. Encarnacion was soon arrested, according to amNewYork.
Addressing her attacker in court, Ebert unleashed her fury upon Encarnacion, telling him, “I hate you. You ruined my life.”
After Judge Paek handed down the sentence, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Ebert’s trial testimony was critical in helping “ensure accountability for this defendant.”
“This victim’s night out ended in horror when she was brutally raped in the stairwell of her apartment building,” Bragg said in a statement. “She continues to suffer the long-term physical and emotional consequences of this incident, and I hope that she can fully heal and recover.”
Police in Paris, France, have arrested a homeless Tunisian migrant accused of killing four men whose bodies were later found in the Seine River. The case began on August 13, when a commuter spotted a corpse floating in the river. Investigators subsequently recovered three more bodies from the same stretch of water.
Autopsies confirmed all four victims were men. At least two had been strangled, though forensic experts could not determine the exact cause of death for the others, according to The Times. Police are investigating the four deaths as homicides.
New York City has opened Ace's Place, its first shelter dedicated specifically to serving transgender and gender-nonconforming people experiencing homelessness. Operated in partnership with the Bronx-based LGBTQ nonprofit Destination Tomorrow, the 150-bed facility in Long Island City, Queens, will provide transitional housing and wraparound support services for residents.
Fully funded by the city for now, Ace's Place will receive $65 million to remain operational through 2030. In addition to housing, the shelter will offer on-site psychiatric care, medical referrals, culinary and GED classes, job training, financial literacy and life skills workshops, counseling, and other comprehensive services. Destination Tomorrow will manage day-to-day operations.
Jamal Moreland, 27, is on trial in Jacksonville for attempted armed robbery and attempted first-degree murder after allegedly shooting his Grindr date during an argument over a dinner bill on February 19, 2023.
At trial this week, Assistant State Attorney Crystal Lorraine Ganpath-Freed told jurors the victim -- whose name is being withheld for his protection -- "went on a date that almost became the date on his tombstone."
She linked Moreland to the crime through evidence, including surveillance video and shell casings, reports Jacksonville CBS affiliate WJAX.
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