Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the sentencing of RANDY RIVERA, 29, to 20 years-to-life in state prison for violently raping, then robbing, a 60-year-old woman on the 207th Street Bridge in 2015. On May 1, 2017, the defendant pleaded guilty to every count in the indictment against him: two counts of Predatory Sexual Assault and one count of Robbery in the Second Degree as a Sexually Motivated Felony.
“In this horrific stranger assault, Randy Rivera mercilessly beat, raped, and robbed a woman early one morning as she walked to work,” said District Attorney Vance. “Now, he will serve a sentence worthy of this brutal crime. Whether it’s through a $38 million investment to end the backlog of untested rape kits or by prosecuting offenders to the fullest extent of the law, my Office remains firmly committed to ensuring that the perpetrators of violent sex crimes are brought to justice, and that survivors receive the justice they so deeply deserve.”
As admitted in the defendant's guilty plea, at approximately 5:30 a.m. on December 21, 2015, the victim was crossing the 207th Street Bridge when RIVERA grabbed her from behind, covered her face with her hood, and dragged her to an alcove on the bridge. RIVERA—a Level 3 sex offender—then shoved the victim to the ground and repeatedly punched her in the face and head before he removed her pants and sexually assaulted her. After the assault, the defendant grabbed the victim’s purse and fled the scene.
The victim contacted the police and, later, went to Harlem Hospital, where a rape kit was performed. On January 30, 2016, DNA results from the rape kit matched to RIVERA in the state DNA database and police arrested him that same day.
Assistant District Attorney Erin Reid handled the prosecution of the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Martha Bashford, Chief of the Sex Crimes Unit, Alfred Peterson, Chief of Trial Bureau 70, and Executive Assistant District Attorney John Irwin, Chief of the Trial Division.
District Attorney Vance thanked Detectives John Lopez and Josh Ulan of NYPD’s Special Victims Squad for assisting with the case.
Defendant Information:
RANDY RIVERA, D.O.B. 01/23/1988
Address Unknown
Convicted:
• Predatory Sexual Assault, a class A felony, two counts
• Robbery in the Second Degree as a Sexually Motivated Felony, a class C felony, one count
Sentenced:
• 20 years-to-life in prison
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