What to Know
- A self-described "spiritual leader" allegedly drugged and raped two women in Brooklyn, prosecutors said
- Nigel Kennedy, allegedly raped one of the women during a "church ceremony" in 2016, the Brooklyn DA's office said
- He allegedly raped the second woman during a "spiritual reading" this past May, according to the DA's office
A self-described "spiritual leader” allegedly drugged and raped two women, one during a “church ceremony” at a Brooklyn apartment the other during a “spiritual reading” at his home, prosecutors said.
Nigel Kennedy, 51, of East Flatbush, invited a 42-year-old woman to join him for a “church ceremony” at an apartment in East Flatbush in August 2016, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office said Wednesday.
At some point during the ceremony, Kennedy started chanting and poured a clear liquid that tasted like alcohol into the woman’s mouth, the DA’s office said.
The woman passed out and felt someone on top of her, but wasn’t able to move and passed out again, the DA’s office said.
When she woke up again at 5 a.m. the next day, she was naked on a bed, and Kennedy told her he “didn’t know how she got naked,” according to the DA’s office. The woman left the apartment and was nauseated and dizzy the rest of the day.
This past year, on May 16, a 28-year-old woman went to Kennedy’s home for a “spiritual reading,” during which Kennedy blew smoke into her face and poured an alcohol-like liquid into her mouth, the DA’s office said.
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After the woman threw up and got dizzy, she passed out. When she woke up, she realized her pants were off and Kennedy was having sex with her, according to the DA’s office.
The woman tried to push Kennedy off and told him to stop, but Kennedy told her to “relax,” adding that it was “part of the ritual,” the DA’s office said.
Both women went to the hospital after the assaults, and the same DNA was recovered from both of the evidence collection kits that were conducted, according to the DA’s office. Kennedy's DNA later matched with the DNA that was collected, the DA's office said.
Kennedy was arrested last month after flying into JFK Airport from Trinidad and faces charges including first- and third-degree rape and first- and second-degree sexual abuse.
He is being held on $35,000 bail and could face up to 25 years in prison, according to the DA's office.
