Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the sentencing of JANCYS SANTIAGO, 50, to 20 years in state prison for raping a 27-year-old woman in her Midtown apartment in May 2000. On September 30, 2025 SANTIAGO was found guilty following a New York State Supreme Court bench trial of both charges against him: Rape in the First Degree and Burglary in the First Degree.
“After 25 years of evading accountability, Jancys Santiago was sentenced to a substantial prison term for raping a woman in her own home,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Dogged investigators and my Office’s prosecutors ensured that this cold case was closed, and Santiago was convicted at trial. I thank the survivor for testifying about this horrific crime after so many years, and for her words at today’s sentencing.”
As proven at trial, on May 23, 2000, a 27-year-old woman came home to her Midtown apartment and discovered SANTIAGO, who was wearing a mask and had been hiding in her closet. He forced her into her bathroom, claiming that he had a knife and gun, and threatening to kill her. He tied her arms and feet with a wire hanger and raped her. A DNA profile developed from evidence in the survivor’s subsequent rape kit was indicted in 2005 by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office as “John Doe.”
The Investigation
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, in December 2001, SANTIAGO entered a 21-year-old woman’s apartment in the Bronx while she was sleeping. He allegedly covered her face, bound her with a wire hanger and raped her. The survivor’s rape kit generated a donor profile, which allegedly matched the donor profile from the Manhattan case. [1]
A three-year, $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office to solve cold cases was used to fund Investigative Genetic Genealogy. This entails taking crime scene evidence and sending it to a private laboratory to develop a profile which is used to search consumer DNA databases for genetic relatives who consented to assist law enforcement. Using the suspect’s DNA found at the scenes, a family tree was developed by NYPD’s Forensic Laboratory, and those results helped identify SANTIAGO.
The case in the Bronx remains open and pending.
Assistant D.A.s Maxine Rosenthal (Senior Counsel to the Special Victims Division) and Katelyn Colman handled the prosecution of the case under the supervision of Executive Assistant D.A. Justin McNabney (Chief of the Special Victims Division). Analyst Rachel Miller and former Analysts Anya Tullman and Jillian Grieco assisted with the investigation.
District Attorney Bragg thanked the NYPD, especially retired Detectives James Barrenger and John Savino.
Defendant Information
JANCYS SANTIAGO
Convicted:
- Rape in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count
- Burglary in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count
Sentenced:
- 20 years in state prison
- 5 years post-release supervision
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[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.