By Kathianne Boniello
A Bay Terrace man was sentenced last Wednesday to 25 to 50 years in prison after he was convicted in December of charges of raping and sodomizing two women in Flushing in 1997.
George Philips, 35, of 28-06 Bell Blvd., was arrested in September 1997 after police linked him to a string of sexual assaults and rapes in Queens and Nassau in 1996 and 1997.
State Supreme Court Judge Jaime Rios sentenced Philips to a minimum of 25 years and a maximum of 75 years in jail after a jury found him guilty of carrying out two sexual assaults that occurred on July 4, 1997 and Aug. 6, 1977.
Philips is awaiting trial in Nassau County on similar charges for sex attacks against three Long Island women. If found guilty, he could face a maximum sentence of 25 years in jail in Nassau County for a total possible sentence of 75 years.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown described Philips in a statement as “a despicable predator who went after young women walking alone in their own neighborhoods. He created a climate of fear in what should have been a haven of safety. The sentence is more than justified.”
Philips was convicted in Queens, after a trial that lasted more than four weeks for charges of rape in the first degree, sodomy, kidnapping, and sexual abuse stemming from two incidents in July and August 1997. The Bay Terrace man was also acquitted of charges from three other alleged attacks in Floral Park and Whitestone, the DA's office said.
In Nassau, Philips is awaiting trial on similar charges after police linked him to sexual attacks against three women, a spokeswoman for Nassau District Attorney Dennis Dillon said in December.
Philips' lawyer, Thomas Liotti of Garden City, L.I., had sought a postponement last month of his client's sentencing in Queens. Liotti told the Times/Ledger in December that none of the victims were able to positively identify Philips.
“He's Indian,” Liotti said. “There was no ID of George whatsoever on skin tone.”
Liotti said one victim identified her attacker as Caucasian, while another said her attacker spoke Spanish.
The Queens DA's office said Philips prowled the streets of both Queens and Nassau in his 1993 Acura Legend in search of young women who were “sufficiently vulnerable.”
Using a gun and wearing a mask, Philips would force his victims into his car where he raped and/or sodomized them, Queens prosecutors said, and then ordered the women to leave his car with their faces covered.
He was arrested after a young woman in Nassau was able to escape from him and give police a partial license plate number and a description of Philips' car, the DA's office said.
