A 32-year-old Queens man has been indicted by a grand jury for allegedly raping three women in separate attacks on Long Island between 2015 and 2020, prosecutors say.
Adell Hardwick, of Hillis, was arraigned Wednesday on charges of predatory sexual assault, rape and criminal sexual act, all felonies, in connection with the three attacks. All three were on the streets of Hempstead; prosecutors say DNA matched Hardwick to each of them.
The most recent attack was in late January, when prosecutors allege Hardwick sneaked up behind a woman leaving a local business, flashed a knife and brought her to an abandoned house, where he raped and sodomized her.
About seven months earlier, he allegedly raped and sodomized a different woman in Denton Green Park. The first attack in the series dates back to January 2015, when prosecutors say a now-deceased woman was walking on Main Street when Hardwick allegedly grabbed her, dragged her to a vacant home and raped and sodomized her.
Hardwick was arrested by Nassau County detectives this past April based on the new DNA evidence, prosecutors said.
“Adell Hardwick allegedly preyed upon three women on the streets of Hempstead and brutally raped them,” Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said in a statement. "These vicious attacks, which occurred between 2015 and 2020, are the marks of a serial predator. Thanks to DNA matches on all three cases, we will aggressively seek justice for these women. Nassau County is safer now that this defendant is apprehended."
Hardwick was remanded to jail after his arraignment Wednesday and is due back in court next month. Hardwick faces up to life in prison if convicted of all the counts against him. His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.
