Man Convicted In Two Brutal Rapes

A Brooklyn man, who worked in Long Island City, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for two brutal rapes of teenage girls in northwest Queens. Jofre Bautista, 34, of 105 Starr Street in Brooklyn, was employed by a Long Island City awning company when he raped a 15-year-old girl in December 2003 and a 13-year-old girl in October 2005, both walking home. Bautista pleaded guilty to both counts of rape last month, taking a 20-year sentence instead of going to trial where he would have faced up to 50 years in prison.
A “cold hit” of DNA from the 2005 rape led to suspicion of Bautista’s involvement in the 2003 rape, said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
“This case underscores yet again the crucial importance of DNA evidence, which is irrefutable proof of guilt or innocence,” Brown said.
After questioning by the police, Bautista admitted asking the 13-year-old schoolgirl in Woodside for directions to Queens Boulevard last year. When the girl ignored him, he got out of his van and punched her in the face. Bautista pulled her into the vehicle, threatened her with a knife and raped and beat her.
Two years earlier, the defendant grabbed a 15-year-old girl from behind as she was walking at the corner of 67th Street and Maurice Avenue in Elmhurst. Bautista dragged her into his car, threatened her with a knife and raped and beat her.
“The defendant has now been held accountable for his crimes and will now serve a lengthy prison term … The defendant’s guilty pleas and today’s sentence provides closure to the victims and avoids their having to testify about how a simple walk home turned into a terrorizing ordeal during which they were brutally victimized and suffered physical and emotional trauma from which they may never recover,” Brown said. “I hope today’s sentence imposed by the court brings comfort to the young women in knowing that a dangerous predator has been removed from the streets and will no longer be a threat to their safety.”