FORMER MAINTENANCE WORKER CONVICTED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING ELDERLY TENANT
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, announced today the conviction of a former maintenance worker in a residential building on charges of brutally raping an elderly tenant inside of her apartment in April 1999.
District Attorney Brown identified the defendant as Byron Shelton, 46, of 163-29 130th Avenue, Jamaica, New York. He was convicted of rape and sexual abuse after a two week jury trial before Supreme Court Justice Richard L. Buchter. Justice Buchter will impose sentence on January 23, 2001 at which time the defendant faces up to 25 years in prison.
District Attorney Brown said, “This was a violent and terribly shameful act perpetrated against an elderly woman. The victim is to be commended for her willingness to testify despite some serious health concerns and for her cooperation in seeing to it that this predator is punished for his outrageous crime.”
According to the testimony at trial, the defendant was a maintenance worker at a residential complex in Jamaica. The victim, 81, testified at trial that she recognized him as having worked at the complex where she lives and as having worked at a nearby supermarket. On the night of April 22, 1999, as she returned to her apartment from a weekly prayer meeting, she met the defendant in the elevator of her building and he asked if she needed her windows washed. The victim responded that she did and she let him into the apartment. Once inside, it was testified, the defendant forced her into the bedroom, and sexually assaulted her. He was arrested a few days later.
Assistant District Attorney Eric Rosenbaum of the District Attorney's Special Victims Bureau, which is under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Marjory D. Fisher and the overall supervisor of Executive Assistant District Attorney Gregory L. Lasak, was in charge of the prosecution.