Crime & Safety

Teen Gets 20 Years for Rape

Nashane Peterkin to serve 20 years behind bars for spree of attacks against women last summer.

A Queens teenager will spend the next two decades behind bars for violent sexual attacks on two women in Valley Stream, according to the Nassau District Attorney.

Nashane Peterkin, 17, of Springfield Gardens, was sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by 20 years of post-release supervision, reported the DA.

in December, Peterkin pleaded guilty to first-degree rape, first-degree criminal sexual act, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of second-degree strangulation, and two counts of second-degree assault.

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Peterkin was arrested in Howard Beach in September for trying to assault a woman, who was then seven months pregnant, on Mill Road in Valley Stream. The 30-year-old victim said Peterkin, then 16, shoved her to the ground, punched her in the face, and tried to rip her shirt off, according to police. The incident happened in late-August.

Peterkin was also charged with attacking and raping and causing broken bones and bruising to a woman in her sixties as she walked alone on a hiking trail in Valley Stream in early September.

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“Women should be able to take a stroll in the park or walk home from the train station without fear of being the victim of a violent predator,” Nassau DA Kathleen Rice said. “While the physical and emotional trauma inflicted by Nashane Peterkin on these women will never be erased, this defendant will be in prison for a long time where he will not be able to terrorize his victims or violate a community’s sense of safety.”

Top detectives called Peterkin a "very dangerous young man" and a "serial sexual predator" for the nature of the attacks.

"We have not had a this type of situation [in Nassau County] in quite some time where the victims are randomly selected...It was very concerning," said Nassau Police Chief of Department Steven Skrynecki in a press conference in September following Peterkin's arrest. Watch video of the Skrynecki's statements here.


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