D.A. Bragg Announces All-Count Conviction of Darryl Phelps For Brutal Rape in Sidewalk Shed


January 30, 2023

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg today announced the trial conviction of DARRYL PHELPS, 62, for brutally raping a 23-year-old woman in a sidewalk shed in Koreatown as she walked home from work. A New York State Supreme Court jury found PHELPS guilty of all counts of the indictment against him, including two counts of Predatory Sexual Assault – a class A-II felony, based on his 1998 conviction for Attempted Rape in the First Degree – and one count of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree.

“In less than an hour of deliberations, a jury of Darryl Phelps’ peers found him guilty of brutally raping a young woman who was simply trying to walk home from work,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Notably, while this survivor did not return to the United States to testify, our prosecutors were able to secure this conviction using body-worn camera footage, eyewitness testimony, and other evidence. I thank our prosecutors for their compassion, and for their dedication to pursuing accountability.” 

As proven at trial, at approximately 1:30 a.m. on December 22, 2021, PHELPS attacked the 23-year-old stranger as she entered a sidewalk shed outside of a construction site while walking home from her job as a waiter in Korea Town. PHELPS hit her with a hard object, knocking her to the ground, before punching her repeatedly as he threatened to kill her if she made noise or called the police. PHELPS took off her pants, sexually assaulted her, and raped her, holding her down with one arm while wrapping the other around her neck. A nearby delivery driver called 911 and responding NYPD officers pulled PHELPS off the survivor and placed him under arrest.
 
At PHELPS’ trial, in lieu of testimony from the survivor who was in New York on a student visa and did not return to the U.S. after the incident, the Manhattan D.A.’s Sex Crimes Unit presented evidence including body-worn camera footage, as well as testimony from an eyewitness and individuals the survivor contacted in the immediate aftermath of the crime. The jury found PHELPS guilty on all counts after less than one hour of deliberations.  
 
Assistant D.A.s Austin Minogue and Charlotte Armour handled the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Shannon Lucey (Deputy Chief of the Sex Crimes Unit), Vanessa Puzio (Deputy Chief of the Sex Crimes Unit), and Nicole Blumberg (Chief of the Sex Crimes Unit) and Executive Assistant D.A. Justin McNabney (Chief of the Special Victims Division). Assistant D.A. Jung Park, Trial Preparation Assistants Charlotte McCarthy and Abigail Simon, Investigative Analyst Molly Viar, Clinical Director Melissa Martinez, and our dedicated sex crimes counselor from the Witness Aid Services Unit assisted with the case.
 
District Attorney Bragg thanked the NYPD, including Intelligence Bureau Sergeant Edward Lee; the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, including Special Agents Aaron Ure and Brian Palmatier; and the staff at Lenox Health Greenwich Village’s Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner Program. 
 
Defendant Information:
DARRYL PHELPS
New York, NY
 
Convicted:

  • Predatory Sexual Assault, a class A-II felony, two counts
  • Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, a class D felony, one count

###