A 28-year-old man pleaded guilty for the brutal 2019 sexual attack of a 74-year-old Queens woman in her apartment, prosecutors announced Friday.
Rodrigo Escamilla, from Corona, pleaded guilty to criminal sexual act in the first degree Thursday, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant said she looks to sentence Escamilla to 15 years in prison and 20 years post release supervision. He will also be required to register as a sex offender at the time of his release. Escamilla was ordered to return to court on May 27.
According to the district attorney, between midnight and 1 a.m. on July 17, 2019, Escamilla knocked on the apartment door of the 74-year-old woman. When she opened the door, Escamilla forced his way into the apartment, struck the woman in the head with a bottle once inside and dragged her to a bedroom where he sexually assaulted her.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
The woman was treated at a local hospital for injuries that required multiple staples to her head.
Katz said that surveillance video obtained by the NYPD showed Escamilla follow the woman into her building’s lobby and showed him approach her apartment.
“The defendant viciously violated an elderly woman in a place that is supposed to be her safe place of refuge. Those who prey on members of our elderly community will be held accountable by my Office. The defendant has now admitted guilt for his criminal actions and faces a lengthy prison term at sentencing,” Katz said.
