MINEOLA, N.Y. (1010 WINS) – A Queens man was sentenced to 65 years to life in prison for raping three women on Long Island between 2015 and 2020, after being linked to the crimes through DNA evidence, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced Thursday.
Adell Hardwick, 36, was convicted on Sept. 6 after a bench trial of three counts of rape in the first degree, predatory sexual assault and three counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree. He was acquitted of one count of predatory sexual assault.
According to court documents, on Jan. 25, 2015, Hardwick approached a 42-year-old woman and walked with her to an abandoned house in Hempstead. He then raped the victim in the house. After a struggle, she was able to get away and contacted police.
The survivor was taken to Nassau University Medical Center after the assault where a DNA swab was collected during a sexual assault examination.
On June 4, 2019, Hardwick again approached a 51-year-old woman who was meeting with friends at Denton Green Park in Hempstead. After her friends left, Hardwick grabbed the woman and dragged her into the bushes where he raped her. The victim was able to escape and called the police. She was brought to NUMC where a sexual assault examination was conducted, and a DNA swab was collected.
On Jan. 30, 2020, Hardwick approached a 55-year-old woman on the street in Hempstead and forced her into an abandoned garage. He then violently strangled the victim, raped her, and fled the scene. The victim contacted police and was immediately brought to NUMC for an examination where a DNA sample was collected.
Hardwick was arrested on April 23, 2020, for the January attack by detectives with the Nassau County Police Department's Special Victims Squad after an investigation by the District Attorney's Cold Case Unit.
A buccal swab obtained after Hardwick's arrest was compared to the DNA samples retrieved after each of the incidents and positively identified him as the attacker.
"Adell Hardwick targeted multiple vulnerable women with sexual violence over a period of five years, forcing them into isolated areas where he ruthlessly raped them," Donnelly said. "DNA evidence collected after each of the attacks was essential to finally connecting this defendant to each of these horrific crimes. Today's prison sentence ensures that Adell Hardwick will never harm another woman again in Nassau County. No unsolved case is ever forgotten by my office. My Cold Case Unit will follow every lead and reexamine every piece of evidence to get justice for victims of violent crimes."
