Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Rony Lopez Alvarez, 39, has pleaded guilty to rape in the first the first degree. The defendant attacked a woman, dragged her into a dark alley and raped her in 2020. The defendant fled the state but was caught in Georgia and brought back to Queens to face justice.

District Attorney Katz said, “For more than a year, we continued our investigation in search of the man responsible for this horrible crime. The defendant, who fled the state and was extradited to face charges, has now admitted to brutally violating a woman as she walked along the sidewalk. Although the trauma cannot be undone, I hope that the victim takes some solace and rests easier knowing her attacker will be incarcerated for his criminal actions.”

Lopez Alvarez, of Forest Park, Georgia, pleaded guilty yesterday to rape in the first degree before Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant, who set sentencing for May 12, 2022. Justice Pandit-Durant indicated that a sentence of 10 years in prison will be imposed, to be followed by five years’ post release supervision. Lopez Alvarez will also be required to register as a sex offender.

DA Katz said, according to court records, on January 18, 2020, at approximately 4 a.m., as a 27-year-old woman walked past shops and stores on Jamaica Avenue the defendant grabbed her. Putting a hand over the victim’s mouth, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed a sharp object against her. Lopez Alvarez then forced her into an alley between the shops and told her he would “snap her neck” if she screamed for help.

Continuing, the DA said, the defendant pulled the victim toward the back of the dark alley where he removed some of her clothes and raped her. The defendant then fled the area. The woman was able to walk out of the alley and flag down a passerby who called 911 for her.

The victim was taken to an area hospital, said the DA, where she was treated and a rape kit was used to collect DNA evidence. A DNA profile was developed from the DNA evidence found in the rape kit and after an investigation was conducted, a DNA match was discovered. The defendant was found in Forest Park, Georgia, and transported back to Queens.

The investigation was conducted by the Queens DA’s Special Victims Squad, in particular New York City Police Detective Raymond Abear, who unexpectedly passed away in early 2020.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Regan of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Eric C. Rosenbaum, Bureau Chief, Debra Lynn Pomodore and Brian Hughes, Deputy Bureau Chiefs, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Daniel A. Saunders.