A Richmond Hill man who raped a 14-year-old girl caught up in a sick coercion plot will spend the next three years in prison, prosecutors announced on Wednesday.
Albert Premnauth, 24, of Jamaica Avenue was convicted in June of second-degree rape, second-degree criminal sexual act and endangering the welfare of a child. Acting Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone Jr., in addition to handing down the three-year prison sentence, ordered Premnauth to serve 10 years’ probation and to register as a sex offender.
According to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, the girl had been forced into having sex with Premnauth after an 18-year-old male friend — who owed Premnauth money for a previous marijuana purchase — threatened to pose a nude video of her on the internet if she refused.
“In this instance, the 14-year-old victim, as a joke, sent a naked video of herself to her 14-year-old female friend on Snapchat. That video then ended up in the hands of the 18-year-old male friend. That friend, sadly, threatened to post it online if the girl did not have sex with the defendant to pay off his debt,” Brown said in a statement. “[Premnauth] forced the girl to have sex with him even though she cried and literally begged not to be raped.”
Prosecutors said the 18-year-old male friend arranged for Premnauth to meet with the 14-year-old girl at the defendant’s home on Feb. 20, 2016. The girl pleaded with Premnauth not to take advantage of her, stating that she was 14 and that she would find the money to pay her friend’s debt if he would give her time.
Undeterred, law enforcement sources said, Premnauth forced the girl to have sex with him; afterward, he provided her with $100 in cash and a pair of Beats by Dre headphones. The girl wound up giving the cash and headset to her friend, who subsequently sold the headphones to pay his debt to Premnauth.
Members of the NYPD Queens Special Victims Squad arrested Premnauth in December 2016 following an investigation.
