May 13, 2022 By Christian Murray
A 28-year-old man who barged into a 74-year-old woman’s Corona apartment and attempted to rape her has pleaded guilty to charges related to the vicious July 2019 attack.
Rodrigo Escamilla, of 104th Street in Corona, has pleaded guilty to a “criminal sex act” in the first degree, and Queens Supreme Court Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant said she will sentence him to 15 years in prison to be followed by 20 years’ post release supervision.
“The defendant viciously violated an elderly woman in a place that is supposed to be her safe place of refuge,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement. “Those who prey on members of our elderly community will be held accountable by my Office.”
Escamilla attacked the septuagenarian after knocking on her apartment door—located on 38th Avenue near 108th Street—shortly after midnight on July 17, 2019.
The elderly woman opened her apartment door and Escamilla forced his way inside before bashing her in the head with a bottle and dragging her into a bedroom. He then held her down and sexually assaulted her.
Police nabbed Escamilla after releasing video surveillance of him following the 74-year-old into the apartment building—and then loitering in the lobby prior to the attack. Footage also showed him approach the woman’s door.
Escamilla lived less than a mile from elderly woman’s apartment.
The victim was treated after the attack at a local hospital and required multiple staples to her head.
Escamilla is scheduled to be sentenced on May 27.