Press Release
MAN CHARGED WITH RAPE AND ASSAULT IN ATTACK ON WOMAN
Allegedly Took Victim on Motorcycle Ride, Then Attacked Her Faces Up to 25 Years in Prison
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Tony Kempsey was arraigned for allegedly raping a 49-year-old woman on an Elmhurst street after giving her a ride on his motorcycle and then beating her.
District Attorney Katz said: “This kind of horrific attack is a nightmare. The defendant evaded arrest for weeks and now will be held accountable.”
Kempsey, 58, of Butler Street in Brooklyn, was arraigned yesterday on charges of rape in the first degree, two counts of assault in the second degree and sexual abuse in the first degree. Queens Criminal Court Judge Jeffrey Gershuny remanded the defendant and ordered him to return to court on May 16. If convicted, Kempsey faces up to 25 years in prison.
According to the charges, based on recovered video surveillance and NYPD investigation, on Sunday, April 30, at approximately 5 a.m., Kempsey was riding a motorcycle in Elmhurst when he encountered the victim who was walking on the sidewalk. He then drove the victim for a few minutes before parking the motorcycle and walking with her for a short distance.
Shortly thereafter, Kempsey suddenly punched the victim in the face repeatedly. After she fell to the ground, he raped her. The defendant fled and the victim was able to summon help.
The victim was treated at a Queens hospital for head trauma and other injuries.
Assistant District Attorney Chrystina S. Lopera, of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Eric C. Rosenbaum, Bureau Chief, Debra Lynn Pomodore and Brian C. Hughes, Deputy Bureau Chiefs, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Special Prosecutions Division Joyce Smith.
**Criminal complaints and indictments are accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.