Serial sex stalker/rapist sentenced to 9 yrs in prison but only four for East Side rape

A man who was found guilty of raping and then sending a video of the attack of a 24 year old woman in her bedroom on the lower East Side was sentenced on April 12 to four years in a New York State prison for the July, 2021 crime.

Prosecutors said that was he maximum allowable under NYS law for rape in the third degree, a felony committed by Otoniel McKenzie.

A 16 minute video he made of the rape and sent to the victim is only a misdemeanor as is the stalking and the attempted coercion charges that a jury also found McKenzie guilty of last month.

Defense attorneys had argued that the sex was consensual, a claim the jury rejected.

McKenzie had already been sentenced to five years in state prison for stalking and repeatedly groping a stranger as she walked down Spring St. near Sixth Ave. on July 31, 2021. In that case, the stalking charge was a felony, but the three counts of forcible touching that he was also convicted of were only misdemeanors.

A judge granted a prosecution request on April 12 that the two convictions must be served consecutively, resulting in a combined nine year prison term followed by ten years supervised release.

In the latest trial, prosecutors said that between July 18, 2021 and July 27, 2021 McKenzie texted the woman–who took the stand to testify against her assailant but whose name was not released–from six different cell phone numbers and in one instance sent her a clip of the attack. Prosecutors said he had altered the video to make it appear the sex was consensual.

At one point, prosecutors said McKenzie told the victim, “I hope you always remember this ordeal because I’m sure it is going to shape your life forever.”

“Otoniel McKenize committed utterly horrific crimes when he raped, filmed and then stalked a young New Yorker for more than a week,” said district attorney Alvin Bragg. “I thank the survivor for her bravery in taking the stand and members of the jury for carefully considering the evidence before them. I am grateful to our partners in the NYPD for their work in identifying and arresting McKenzie and finally, for our prosecutors who fought for accountability.”

Four days after the attack on the lower East Side, McKenzie struck again when he followed a 29 year old woman for about 20 minutes as she walked down Spring St., groping her at least three times, repeatedly hiding, jumping out at her and then running off prosecutors said.

While in custody awaiting trial in the rape case, prosecutors claimed McKenzie made dozens of calls asking a friend to access his electronic device and further edit the secretly recorded video to make it appear less incriminating and then finally asked the friend to delete the video.