By Adam Kramer
The third suspect in the rape of a 16-year-old Bayside High School student in October 1999 pleaded guilty to sexual assault and then conspiring to kidnap the victim in an effort to prevent her from testifying at the trial, the Queens district attorney said.
Parrish Jones, 20, of 105-16 34th Ave. in East Elmhurst, pleaded guilty to two separate indictments June 26 charging him with sodomy, kidnapping, sexual abuse, assault and conspiracy before State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Grosso in Kew Gardens.
The judge has indicated that he will impose a prison sentence of 13 years on July 17.
Jones was the third and final defendant to take a plea in the Oct. 26, 1999 sexual attack that rocked the upper middle-class community and shattered the normally quiet, safe atmosphere of Bayside High School.
Earlier this year, the two other defendants pleaded guilty to similar charges. Elkech Leon, 20, of 89-43 212th Place in Queens Village, was sentenced to 15 years in jail, and Jonathan Mendoza, 20, of 43-55 Kissena Blvd. in Flushing, was sentenced to six years in jail.
“Today’s plea of guilty not only ensures the defendant’s conviction of a vicious crime but also protects the victim — who remains severely traumatized — from having to face and testify against her attacker,” said Queens DA Richard Brown. “The crime was shocking and reprehensible and the young woman will carry the physical and emotional scars of her terrible ordeal for the rest of her life.”
At the time of the attack the three men and victim all were sophomores at Bayside High School, which has 2,700 students.
The girl’s name is being withheld due to the nature of the crime.
Brown said the three men, who were special education students at the time of the attack, lured the victim into a bathroom in the basement of Bayside High School. They then proceeded to beat and strangle the girl using Jones’ belt, Brown said.
Once she fell into unconsciousness, Jones and Leon sodomized the victim, while Mendoza allegedly acted as the lookout. After attacking the girl, Brown said, the three men left her “bound and half dressed” on the bathroom floor.
A short while after the three men left the bathroom, a janitor discovered the girl on the floor and notified the police. The three were arrested several hours later.
In addition, Brown said, during Jones’ incarceration on Rikers Island, he tried to arrange for the girl’s abduction and murder to prevent her from testifying at the trial. He said the Queens DA’s office learned of Jones’ plan and began an investigation. The defendant tried to hire a “hit man,” who was an undercover police officer, Brown said.
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
