Breitbart reports an accused rapist was arrested for attempted rape and sexual assault on a woman in Brooklyn days after being released from Rikers Island due to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.
Robert Pondexter, 57, had been detained at the New York City prison on a separate rape charge when he was released on April 15 from Riker’s Island under Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) directives, Cuomo had ordered state prisons to release thousands of inmates to comply with social distancing guidelines.
But just 10 days later, according to the New York Post, Pondexter grabbed a 58-year-old woman by the collar and dragged her into a school parking lot as he was crossing the street from the supportive housing development Concern Heights Apartments.
Pondexter, according to law enforcement, allegedly made the woman perform oral sex on him, choked her, and attempted to rape her, the woman, who did not know Pondexter, was eventually able to kick him away and escape.
Pondexter has been charged with rape, sexual abuse, and criminal possession of crack cocaine.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s office told News 12 that Pondexter’s “parole hold was lifted and he was released after it was revealed in court that his case was going to be dismissed because the victims were not cooperative,” explaining his release from Riker’s Island 10 days before the alleged rape, Brietbart reported.
As of April 20, New York City had released more than 1,500 inmates from prisons due to the coronavirus even as some crime, such as car theft, has skyrocketed in the midst of Cuomo’s statewide stay-at-home orders.