Crown Heights Man Sentenced to 115 Years For Raping Elderly Woman In Brighton Beach

Asa Robert, 20, has been sentenced to 115 years in prison for the rape of an 82-year-old Brighton Beach woman in 2015, according to acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.

The horrific crime took place around just before 2am on July 13, 2015. The elderly woman was returning home from taking out the garbage, when she found Roberts hiding in her bedroom. He strangled her and forced her onto the bed, where he held a knife to her face, demanded money, and punched her in the chest, according to trial testimony. He then held her hostage for several hours before raping her and fleeing the home.

The heinousness of the crime prompted then-NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton to weigh in.

“What that woman suffered and endured, nobody should have to suffer or endure anytime or anywhere in this city. It’s a violent, vicious, depraved individual that we are seeking and we need to get him off the streets very, very quickly,” Bratton said.

A massive manhunt ensued, in which cops nearly caught Roberts multiple times. He was finally caught in the kitchen of a private residence in Bedford-Stuyvesant four days later.

Robert was convicted of first-degree rape, first-degree criminal sexual act, first-degree sexual abuse, second-degree assault, first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, second-degree burglary and two counts of second-degree criminal trespass, following a jury trial in November 2016.

“The defendant’s crimes, in this case, are almost unspeakable,” said Acting District Attorney Gonzalez. “I commend the victim for testifying and making sure that this defendant was held accountable for this horrific assault. Today’s sentence reflects the depravity of his conduct as proven at trial and is necessary to protect the public from a clearly dangerous individual.”