Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the guilty plea of ALBERT BROWN, 35, for forcing a 24-year-old woman to perform oral sex on him, while threatening her at gunpoint, on a street in East Harlem. BROWN pleaded guilty in a New York State Supreme Court to one count of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree. Under the terms of his plea, BROWN is expected to be sentenced to a promised term of 20 years in state prison, followed by 25 years of post-release supervision, and required to complete New York State Sex Offender Registration.

“Albert Brown is now convicted of a horrific act of sexual violence and will face a significant prison term,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Every New Yorker deserves to be safe walking our city’s streets and I hope the survivor can continue to heal and recover from the trauma she has experienced. We treat sexual violence with the utmost seriousness, and I urge survivors to contact our trauma-informed Special Victims Division at 212-335-9373.” 

In addition to calling the Office’s Special Victims Division, survivors of sexual assault can also access support 24 hours a day through the NYC Hope Hotline at 1-800-621-HOPE (4673).

According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, on November 1, 2023, at approximately 6:30 a.m., the victim was walking near East 117th Street between 3rd and Lexington Avenues. BROWN, wearing a sweatshirt and ski mask, approached her and demanded that she turn over her belongings. He took her cellphone and then pulled out a gun. BROWN tapped the gun against her abdomen and head and then forced her to perform oral sex on him.

BROWN fled the scene, ultimately entering a building on 118th Street. Search warrants executed in connection with the case led to the recovery of clothing and of a firearm. BROWN was arrested on November 9, 2023.

Assistant D.A.’s Katherine Demartini and Stephanie Ritter are handling the prosecution of this case, under the supervision of Assistant D.A. Nicole Blumberg (Chief of the Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Bureau) and Executive Assistant D.A. Justin McNabney (Chief of the Special Victims Division). Melissa Mourges (Special Assistant District Attorney of the Forensic Sciences Unit); Coleen Balbert (Chief of the Forensic Sciences Unit); Chris Kamnik (DNA Specialist for the Forensic Sciences Unit); Eva Nikitovic (Investigative Analyst of the Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Bureau); and Noah Taylor (former Investigative Analyst of the Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Bureau) provided valuable assistance in this case.

D.A. Bragg thanked the NYPD, particularly Detectives Rosita Williams and Jerald Rivera of the Manhattan Special Victims Squad. He also thanked the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), particularly Katey Nori and Shannon Talty.

Defendant Information:

ALBERT BROWN
Brooklyn, NY

Convicted:

• Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count

###