NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A man was beaten and tortured for hours at a Queens hotel room after he answered a fake sex ad, prosecutors said Friday as they announced a teen thief and her accomplice had been charged with kidnapping, robbery and other crimes.
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The 59-year-old victim answered a prostitution ad earlier this month that included a photo of the 19-year-old defendant, Destiny Lebron, according to Queens D.A. Melinda Katz.
The victim met Lebron on Aug. 6, reportedly at Hotel Ninety Five in Jamaica, where he paid her for sex and began to undress.
But as he was taking off his clothes, she threw bleach in his face and opened the hotel room door to let her accomplice, Gil Iphael, inside, prosecutors said.
Iphael, 21, allegedly covered the victim’s head with a blanket and began punching him while demanding money. He then took the victim’s car keys, phone and wallet, according to prosecutors.
When the victim refused to unlock his cellphone, Lebron allegedly burned him with a curling iron until he complied.
The victim was then held in the hotel room for several hours against his will as the pair continued to assault him, according to prosecutors.
During the terrifying episode, Iphael allegedly reached into a bag to suggest he had a gun and threatened to kill the victim. He and Lebron also repeatedly threatened to kill his family if he contacted the police, prosecutors said.
The pair tried to transfer the victim’s money electronically and eventually made multiple trips to an ATM with his bank card to take cash from his account, according to prosecutors.
Lebron, of Brooklyn, and Iphael, of Valley Stream, were arraigned Wednesday in Queens Supreme Court on a 22-count indictment charging them with kidnapping, robbery, assault, unlawful imprisonment, grand larceny, petit larceny, unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal possession of a weapon.
Katz said the duo “pounced on the unsuspecting man, held him against his will and severely beat and terrorized him over several hours.”
“This kind of lawlessness is inexcusable and will not be tolerated. Both defendants are in custody and face very serious charges,” the D.A. said in a statement Thursday.
Lebron and Iphael were both ordered to return to court on Sept. 13.
They each face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
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