UPDATE: Police announced early Friday morning that the suspect was apprehended in the 81st Precinct, which covers part of Bedford-Stuyvesant. Charges are pending, and the investigation remains ongoing, according to cops.
The local councilman had upped the ante in the search for the man accused of raping an elderly Brighton Beach woman on July 13.
Councilman Chaim Deutsch (D–Sheepshead Bay) is offering another $5,000 on top of the $2,500 reward offered by the police for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the suspect.
“I am shocked and disgusted at the heinous and barbaric nature of this crime against an elderly woman,” said Deutsch.
Police originally reported that the suspect allegedly entered the 82-year-old woman’s apartment at 1:40 am and hid in the bedroom while she was sweeping the street outside. The man then held her at knifepoint and demanded money, but the victim told him she did not have any, police said. He remained in her apartment until 4 am, according to cops, and then allegedly raped her before stealing an umbrella and a bag of clothing and fleeing the scene.
But Deutsch is also pushing for the suspect to be charged with a bias crime.
The councilman said that when he learned the victim was a member of his district, he spoke to her and her family on July 15. They told Deutsch that the alleged rape only occurred after the suspect learned that the woman was Jewish.
That’s what prompted Deutsch to offer the additional $5,000 reward for the suspect’s capture.
“This horrific crime has shaken our community to its core, and we will not rest easy until we know that the attacker is in police custody,” Deutsch said in a statement. “We should all keep the victim and her family in our prayers. I am hopeful that the NYPD will make an arrest before anyone else gets hurt.”
Deutsch said that the police are aware of those troubling details, and that he has been in contact with the district attorney’s office and the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force.
Two days after incident, police said they had identified the suspect as 18-year-old Asa Robert based on forensic evidence at the scene, and released a photograph with an appeal to the public for help locating him.
Robert has a rap sheet, according to cops, that includes multiple robberies, grand larceny, gang assault, trespassing, and a sex act with a child under 11-years-old.
