Brooklyn Man Receives Up To 20 Years In Prison For 1998 Park Slope Rape

Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced today that 45-year-old Johnny Jacob of Brooklyn has been convicted for the 1998 rape of a 19-year-old woman on the 4th Avenue-9th Street subway platform.

Jacob was sentenced to an indeterminate term of 10 to 20 years in prison following his conviction on charges of first-degree rape.

“What began as an exciting day headed to a new job turned into an absolute nightmare for this young woman who crossed paths with this violent predator,” Acting District Attorney Gonzalez said in a statement. “Thankfully, the DNA recovered that day was used to hold the defendant accountable for this horrific act and bring justice to his victim, who bravely testified against him at trial.”

The case was solved through what is known as a “cold hit.” Jacobs’ DNA had been entered into the New York DNA databank following a conviction on federal money laundering charges and matched positively with the DNA sample obtained from the victim’s rape kit back in 1998. The defendant was arrested on October 4, 2013, according to the District Attorney’s office.

According to trial testimony, the 19-year-old victim was on her way to her first day at work on March 2, 1998. At approximately 9:30am she exited the M train at the 4th Avenue-9th Street subway stop. The defendant approached her, ordered her to the back of the platform, and forcibly raped her, while placing what she believed to be a gun to her back and threatening to shoot her. He told her he would kill her if she called the police.

Prosecutors say that the defendant, who was not known to the victim, then fled the scene. The victim ran to work and her employer called 911. She was treated at Lutheran Hospital where a rape kit was administered.