FOREST PARK — A Brooklyn man was convicted Tuesday of a September 2009 rape that occurred in Forest Park, the Queens district attorney said.
The victim was walking along Park Lane near 91st Street at around 3:20 a.m. when Carl Wallace, 30, of Hawthorne Street, approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her, according to the DA.
Wallace told the victim he would stab her if she screamed and dragged her to nearby Forest Park. After pushing the victim to the ground and raping her — repeating the first threat — Wallace then opened the victim’s purse and took money, an iPod and her ID, the DA said.
“This defendant is a violent predator who should receive the maximum sentence in order to punish him and to protect society,” Richard Brown said.
Wallace was tied to the crime by his DNA, which was put into a state database after he was arrested and convicted for attempted burglary in 2003.
Wallace’s conviction on the 2009 rape charge underscores the effectiveness of DNA samples, according to Brown.
“Hopefully, the Legislature in its closing hours will expand the law to require defendants to submit a DNA sample upon conviction of any crime,” he said.
