Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. today announced the sentencing of DENNIS WEAVER, 31, to a minimum of 18 years in state prison for sexually assaulting his girlfriend at knifepoint on April 29, 2021, after she tried to end their relationship. After he was arrested and in custody on the sexual assault case, WEAVER harassed, threatened, and bribed the victim from Rikers Island in an effort to prevent her from cooperating with law enforcement and to keep her from testifying against him at trial. WEAVER was convicted by a New York State Supreme Court jury on October 17, 2023, of 21 counts, including Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, Attempted Rape in the First Degree, Criminal Obstruction of Breathing, Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Stalking in the First Degree, Bribing a Witness, Tampering with a Witness, and more.

“While Dennis Weaver’s campaign of harassment and intimidation tactics may have deterred the survivor in this case from testifying at trial, it did not stop our prosecutors from securing accountability,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Weaver turned his girlfriend’s life into a living nightmare when she tried to end their relationship. His abusive acts escalated over the course of months before he finally brutally and repeatedly sexually assaulted her at knifepoint. Even on Rikers Island, he continued to do everything in his power to prevent her from testifying and cooperating. The talented attorneys in our Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Bureau see this dynamic all too often and know how to build an airtight case, even when the survivor cannot or will not testify. And now, Dennis Weaver will serve at least 18 years in state prison.”

As proven at trial, beginning on September 20, 2020, after the survivor tried to end their relationship, WEAVER’s aggression escalated from breaking her cell phone to throwing bottles through the glass windows of the apartment she shared with her father on the Lower East Side. On April 29, 2021, he dragged the woman into the stairwell and up to the rooftop landing of a residential building, where he threatened to throw her off the roof. He assaulted her, suffocated her with his hands and blankets, and ripped her pants off using his teeth and a knife. He sexually assaulted her at knifepoint for over an hour before the victim was able to get away, running down a flights of stairs without pants on and finding shelter in a Good Samaritan’s apartment where she could safely call 911. WEAVER was arrested six days later, and an Order of Protection was issued barring him from contacting her.

Even after WEAVER was arrested and in custody, he continued to harass, threaten, and bribe the victim in an attempt to prevent her from cooperating with law enforcement. He continued to contact her from Rikers Island, often using other inmates’ book and case numbers, to try to convince her to recant her statement and to drop the charges in recorded calls. He repeatedly implored the victim to sign an affidavit recanting her testimony against him and to refuse to testify at the sexual assault trial. In exchange for the victim’s agreement to sign the affidavit and cease all cooperation with the prosecution, WEAVER offered the victim money, promised to leave her and her family alone, and promised to plead guilty to additional charges pertaining to an incident where WEAVER and the victim unlawfully entered a private residence and a nightclub and damaged property inside of the nightclub.

The survivor was terrified by WEAVER’s threats, and the fact that he would learn where she now lived if she testified at trial. In the weeks preceding the trial, WEAVER’s mother and his associate repeatedly called and threatened the survivor. Ultimately, she did not return to New York to testify.

The People presented extensive video footage and other evidence including high resolution video surveillance from the stairwell where defendant beat, strangled and sexually assaulted the victim at knifepoint, crime scene photos, the victim’s clothing, her 911 call, and body-worn camera footage from the first responders. The People also presented photographs of the windows WEAVER smashed in the days leading up to the sexual assault and heard recordings of his phone calls made from Rikers Island. The four-week trial culminated in the jury’s guilty verdict on October 17, 2023.

Special Victims Division

Since taking office in 2022, D.A. Bragg has taken numerous steps to put the dignity and well-being of survivors at the center of the Office’s work. D.A. Bragg created the Office’s first Special Victims Division helmed by leaders with expertise in providing services to survivors and implementing trauma-informed practices. D.A. Bragg also created the Office’s first Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence (“IPSV”) Bureau by combining the Sex Crimes and Domestic Violence Units, staffed for the first time by Assistant D.A.s doing this work full-time. The Office continues to improve its practice through a wide variety of trainings, and by eliciting feedback through its new Special Victims Division Advisory Council comprised of more than a dozen external stakeholders.

Assistant D.A. Elizabeth D’Antonio (Supervising Attorney, IPSV Bureau) and former Assistant D.A. Matthew Pauleck prosecuted this case under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Kaitlyn Flatley, Sara Weiss, and Vanessa Puzio (Deputy Chiefs of the IPSV Bureau), Nicole Blumberg (Chief of the IPSV Bureau) and Shannon Lucey (Deputy Chief of the Special Victims Division) and Executive Assistant D.A. Justin McNabney (Chief of the Special Victims Division). Investigative Analyst Desi Marks, Investigators Diana Keam, Donyja Bardliving, Alan Sandomir, counselors Nakeisha Vanterpool, Chanelly Solomon and Melissa Martinez, and Assistant D.A.s Coleen Balbert, Melissa Mourges and Beth Fisch Cohen also provided invaluable assistance on this case.

Defendant Information:

DENNIS WEAVER

Brooklyn, NY

Convicted:

• Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, a class B felony, 3 counts
• Attempted Rape in the First Degree, a class C felony, one count
• Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a class D felony, one count
• Stalking in the First Degree, a class D felony, one count
• Bribing a Witness, a class D felony, two counts
• Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree, a class E felony, one count
• Criminal Obstruction of Breathing, a class A misdemeanor, two counts
• Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree, a class A misdemeanor, two counts
• Tampering with a Witness in the Fourth Degree, a class A misdemeanor, one count
• Contempt in the Second Degree, a class A misdemeanor, five counts
• Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree, a class A misdemeanor, two counts

Sentenced:

• 15 years and 3-to-6 years in state prison, consecutiv

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