By Sarina Trangle
Police and the Queens District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday the sexual assault of a 40-year-old disabled woman first reported to have occurred at Resorts World actually happened in the bathroom stall of a women’s restroom on the Aqueduct Racetrack’s property.
Both South Ozone Park gambling establishments share the 110-00 Rockaway Blvd. address, which initially caused confusion about the alleged Feb. 2 attack.
The DA’s office charged Frank Wood, 37, of Kew Gardens, with engaging in criminal sexual acts with a woman possessing the mental capacity of a 2-year-old at 8:02 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday.
DCPI, the public information arm for the Police Department, said officers clocked the crime at 5:45 p.m. that day.
Aqueduct typically starts its final race at 4:45 p.m. on Sundays. However, it is unclear if the racetrack was operating on a different schedule Feb. 2 due to the Super Bowl.
Aqueduct referred all press inqueries to the NYPD.
Resorts World issued a statement saying it was “fully cooperating with law enforcement and New York Racing Association officials regarding the incident that occurred at the NYRA facility.”
Spokesmen for both the NYPD and the Queens DA told the TimesLedger Tuesday that the assault had occurred at Resorts World, but both agencies said Wednesday that the incident happened at Aqueduct.
Prosecutors said a witness told police she saw Wood adjust his belt and pants while leaving the restroom and then discovered the victim naked in the stall, according to the criminal complaint file by the Queens DA.
The witness said she previously heard a woman scream and the voice of a man allegedly saying, “Don’t tell anybody,” come from that stall, the complaint said.
Police said the victim’s mother described her daughter as having the mental capacity of a 2-year-old with nominal speaking and communication abilities.
Wood’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
Police said it was not clear how the victim and Wood ended up alone in the bathroom stall.
Wood told police he sat beside the victim and the two became engaged in a conversation. He said he went to the bathroom and she followed him, according to the criminal complaint. Wood told police a sexual encounter then occurred, the complaint said.
“She screamed and smiled and then I left,” the complaint quoted Wood as saying.
An internal memo from an NYRA security supervisor that was obtained by the Times Ledger notes that the victim’s mother notified NYRA security that her daughter was missing at approximately 5:45 p.m.s
The DA charged Wood with second-degree criminal sexual act, second-degree attempted rape, second-degree sexual abuse, endangering the welfare of an incompetent person and second-degree unlawful imprisonment.
Wood is next scheduled to appear in court March 3.
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com.
