Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the sentencing of CHRISTOPHER VILLACIS, 34, to 20 years-to-life in state prison for holding his former neighbor captive in his East Village apartment beginning on December 31, 2020, and repeatedly beating her, strangling her, and sexually assaulting her over the course of three days. VILLACIS was convicted by a New York State Supreme Court jury on February 9, 2024, of Kidnapping in the First Degree, Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, Strangulation in the Second Degree, and Assault in the Third Degree.

“Christopher Villacis inflicted terrible abuse on a woman who had come to him for help, suddenly turning an argument into three days of absolute torture,” said District Attorney Bragg. “I thank our prosecutors for their dedication to seeing justice done in this case. Most of all, I thank the survivor for taking the stand and recounting this unimaginably difficult experience. Despite his best attempts, the defendant was not able to take her dignity.”

As proven at trial, VILLACIS lived in the same East Village apartment building as the young woman for several years beginning in 2015. She briefly moved to California before returning to New York in November 2020 after a friend called and promised her a safe place to stay. When she landed at JFK, that friend did not answer or return her calls, and – without a place to stay – the survivor returned to her former building. VILLACIS, with whom she had had fleeting interactions in the past, found her in the laundry room and invited her to stay with him. After approximately two weeks, the survivor left, and eventually settled into a shelter in the Bronx.

On December 31, 2020, the survivor returned to the East Village apartment building to pick up her mail, extend New Years wishes to friends and acquaintances, and to speak with the defendant. Inside his apartment, their conversation turned into an argument about relationships and the VILLACIS’ views on women and feminism. When she decided to leave, VILLACIS blocked her from exiting and told her that she owed him money. She tried to leave multiple more times, but VILLACIS pinned her against the wall, hit her, and eventually strangled her until she lost consciousness.

Over the course of the next two nights and three days, the survivor was trapped at VILLACIS’ apartment. When she tried to leave again, he threatened to kill her while brandishing a long knife. He strangled her on multiple occasions to the point of loss of consciousness. He sexually assaulted her, beat her about her face and head, urinated on her, and shaved her head. He would not allow her to eat any food – even cutting up her benefits card – or bathe. 

Eventually the victim was able to leave the apartment by persuading the defendant that she would not call the police or tell anybody what had happened. He instructed her to clean his apartment and take out the trash. As she went to take the trash out, she threw it in the hallway, ran down the staircase, and out of the building where she used a bystander’s phone to call 911.

Assistant D.A.s Austin Minogue and Kelly Keating handled the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Sara Weiss, Vanessa Puzio, and Kaitlyn Flatley (Deputy Chiefs of the Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Bureau, 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). Investigative Analyst Desiree Marks, Supervising Investigator Diana Keam, Senior Investigator Bardliving, and the Survivor Services Bureau’s Sex Crimes Clinical Director Nakeisha Vanterpool and Human Trafficking Clinical Director Melissa Martinez-Valdes provided valuable assistance, as did former trial preparation assistants Alison Leung and Aidan Seiden, former intern and 2023 Summer Law Fellow Sarah Killian, and former Assistant D.A. Lawrence Newman.

Defendant Information

CHRISTOPHER VILLACIS

New York, NY

Convicted:

• Kidnapping in the First Degree, a class A felony, one count
• Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, a class D felony, one count
• Strangulation in the Second Degree, a class D felony, two counts
• Assault in the Third Degree, a class A misdemeanor, one count

Sentenced:

• 20 years-to-life in state prison

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