Discarded Condom Helped Cops Find Him
A Jamaica man has been convicted of threatening a 19- year-old girl with a box cutter before sexually assaulting her twice and then robbing her more than two years ago.
The defendant-identified by Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown as Andrew Barrett, 22-was connected to the attacks, in part, by forensic evidence obtained from a condom that he used during one of the assaults and discarded at the October 2011 crime scene.
Brown stated that Barrett-whose last known address was on 160th Street and has been held in jail since his arrest in January 2012-was convicted last Tuesday, May 6, of first-degree course of sexual conduct, first-degree rape, first-degree attempted rape and third-degree robbery following a two-week jury trial before Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard L. Buchter.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 3, at which time Barrett faces up to 25 years in prison
“[Barrett] stands convicted of being a sexual predator who subjected his victim to a terrorizing ordeal,” Brown said in a statement. “While the scars of that which occurred will be with her for the rest of her life, she proved to be resilient and exhibited grace and dignity as she confronted her attacker at trial. She is to be commended for her bravery in ensuring that the guilty did not escape justice.”
“This case also underscores the crucial importance of DNA evidence which is irrefutable proof of guilt or innocence,” the district attorney added. “Jurors returned a swift and decisive verdict and the defendant now faces a lengthy prison sentence.”
According to trial testimony, the then-19-year-old female victim was on Merrick Boulevard at approximately 3 a.m. on Oct. 13, 2011, when Barrett, also 19 at the time, began following her from behind and approached her wearing a black bandanna that covered his face.
Barrett then displayed a box cutter and swung it at her before dragging her behind a Dumpster where he sexually assaulted her.
As noted at trial, Barrett then took her to another location nearby where he again sexually assaulted her, this time using a condom which he discarded nearby when he was done. He then robbed the victim of her iPod, $10 in cash and a bank debit card.
Police recovered the used condom at the crime scene and turned it over to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for DNA analysis of the semen found inside. The DNA was positively matched to a DNA profile of Barrett that was in the state data bank known as CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) as a result of a previous conviction.
The investigation was conducted by the NYPD Queens Special Victims Squad.
Supervising Assistant District Attorney Frank DeGaetano of the DA’s Special Victims Bureau prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Kenneth M. Appelbaum, bureau chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Charles A. Testagrossa and Deputy Assistant District Attorney Daniel A. Saunders.
