NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Christopher Villacis was sentenced to 20 years-to-life in state prison on Friday for holding his former neighbor captive in his East Village apartment for three days in 2020 and repeatedly sexually assaulting, beating and strangling her, Manhattan prosecutors announced.
Villacis, 34, was convicted of kidnapping, sexual abuse, strangulation and assault on Feb. 9 by a New York State Supreme Court jury, officials said.
He lived in the same building as the woman he abducted beginning in 2015 and the pair shared fleeting interactions. She moved to California briefly before returning to the city in November 2020, and when her plan to stay with a friend fell through, she returned to her old building.
As proven at trial, Villacis invited the woman to stay with him after finding her in the laundry room. She left his apartment after two weeks and settled into a shelter in the Bronx.
On Dec. 31, 2020, the victim returned to the East Village apartment to grab her mail, offer New Year’s best wishes to friends and speak with Villacis. According to prosecutors, the conversation between the two inside of his apartment turned to relationships and Villacis’ view on women and feminism, sparking an argument.
When the victim tried to leave, Villacis blocked her way and demanded money. After multiple attempts to vacate the space, Villacis pinned her to a wall, hit her and strangled her until she lost consciousness.
Authorities said that the woman was trapped for the next two nights and three days, and was subjected to strangulation to the point of loss of consciousness, sexual assault and beating about her face and head. Villacis also urinated on the woman, shaved her head and refused her food the ability to bathe.
If she tried to leave, Villacis threatened her with a long knife, prosecutors said.
The victim was able to persuade her captor to let her leave the apartment by telling him that she would not contact the authorities or tell anyone what happened, and he ordered her to clean his apartment and take out the trash.
She got outside the apartment, threw the trash down the hallway, ran down the staircase and used a bystander’s phone to call 911, officials said.
“Christopher Villacis inflicted terrible abuse on a woman who had come to him for help, suddenly turning an argument into three days of absolute torture,” said District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
"I thank the survivor for taking the stand and recounting this unimaginably difficult experience. Despite his best attempts, the defendant was not able to take her dignity," Bragg concluded.