NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Brooklyn man was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for raping a 20-year-old woman he offered to walk home from a party in 2018, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.
Jason Lopez, a 44-year-old from East New York, saw the victim walking her impaired friend home from a party around 2 a.m. on Dec. 1, 2018 near Herzl Street and Dumont Avenue in Brownsville.
He asked if the pair needed help and then hailed a cab for the impaired friend.
After helping the friend leave, he asked to walk the victim home, at which point he grabbed her by the wrist and brought her into Betsy Head Park.
When he tried to have sex with her and she rebuffed his advances, he threw her to the ground and raped her before fleeing with her cellphone and purse.
The victim flagged down a bystander who called the police.
DNA evidence was collected using a sexual assault evidence kit. The DNA connected the man to a prior conviction and police arrested him two weeks later.
Lopez was convicted of rape and robbery in May.
"This was a horrific attack that left a young woman traumatized and a community shaken," said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. "With today's sentence, the defendant is held accountable for this deplorable crime."
