An Ivory Coast native accused of pretending to be a French-language TV journalist has been convicted of raping one woman and harassing three others in New York. He has been acquitted of sexually attacking a fifth woman.
Jurors delivered their verdict Monday in Hugues-Denver Akassy's trial.
Prosecutors say the 43-year-old Akassy charmed the women with a debonair, phony persona, then became a sexually aggressive stalker. They say he was homeless but held himself out as an accomplished journalist on a website rife with plagiarized praise.
Akassy said the sexual encounters were consensual and the other accusations resulted from misunderstandings. He said he didn't write the now-gone website.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
