Man sentenced to 20 years for raping woman in Bronx park: DA
MOTT HAVEN, the Bronx (PIX11) --- A man will spend two decades in prison for raping a woman at knifepoint in a Bronx park last year, authorities said.
Christopher Martinez, 20, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and 20 years of post-release supervision during a court proceeding in the Bronx on Wednesday, prosecutors said. The defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree rape last month.
Martinez, then 19, was waiting near the woman's Mott Haven home before ambushing her on the morning of May 22, 2022, officials said. Martinez robbed and attacked the victim, then 38, after she dropped off one of her sons at school.
Martinez, then 19, stole $60 and a credit card from the woman before taking her to St. Mary's Park and raping her, prosecutors said.
The victim's other son called the police because he was concerned his mom had not come back home and then seeing her with the defendant, officials said.
The DNA collected from the sexual assault matched Martinez's DNA, authorities said.
“Thanks to the swift actions of the victim’s son, authorities were able to apprehend the rapist, and now he will serve 20 years in prison for this brutal attack," Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark said.
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the New York City area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.