Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the sentencing of Michael Pena, 28, to the maximum penalty of 75 years-to-life in state prison following his convictions at trial of three counts of Predatory Sexual Assault, class A felonies, and three related charges, for attacking a young schoolteacher at gunpoint in Inwood last summer.
The defendant was an NYPD police officer who was off-duty at the time of the attack.
“Today’s life sentence underscores the brutal nature of the defendant’s attack on an innocent young woman,” said District Attorney Vance. “I commend the victim for her bravery throughout this process, and I thank Judge Richard Carruthers for delivering an appropriate sentence that takes the viciousness of the defendant’s crime into account.”
As proven at trial, Pena repeatedly sexually assaulted a female victim on the morning of August 19, 2011, in a courtyard behind 83 Park Terrace, a residential building in Inwood. The defendant forced the victim at gunpoint to that location after threatening her with his department-issued firearm a short distance from the crime scene. Once in the courtyard, PENA brutally and repeatedly sexually assaulted the victim in broad daylight. He was arrested at the scene of the crime and immediately suspended by the New York City Police Department.
District Attorney Vance thanked Assistant District Attorney Evan Krutoy for prosecuting this case, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Martha Bashford, Chief of the Sex Crimes Unit; Ann Prunty, Counsel to the Trial Division; Kerry O’Connell, Chief of Trial Bureau 80; and Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Chief of the Trial Division. Trial Preparation Assistant Jonathan Wilcon assisted with the case.
Defendant information:
Michael Pena, D.O.B. 05/04/84
Yonkers, NY
Convicted:
· Predatory Sexual Assault, a class A2 felony, 3 counts
· Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, a class B felony, 3 counts
Sentence:
· 75 years-to-life
