New York man charged with rape and fatal fentanyl dosing of FIT student
Federal prosecutors allege Moises Freire gave two Fashion Institute of Technology students fentanyl he described as cocaine; one died and her friend nearly died.
At a glance
- Moises Freire, 19, is charged with distributing a deadly drug with intent to commit rape and with fentanyl conspiracy.
- Prosecutors say he gave two FIT students fentanyl he called cocaine on 18 March; one died on 21 March.
- Harry Rosales Pino pleaded guilty in September; Brian Peralta Cabrera also faces drug charges.
Federal prosecutors allege that Moises Freire, 19, of the Bronx, raped a student at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) after giving her fentanyl that rendered her unconscious and ultimately killed her, the US justice department said on Thursday.
Freire faces charges of participating in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and of distributing a deadly drug with intent to commit rape. Brian Peralta Cabrera, 18, of Queens, was also charged in connection with the drug conspiracy. A third defendant, Harry Rosales Pino, pleaded guilty in September to plotting to distribute narcotics resulting in death and serious bodily injury, and is tentatively scheduled to be sentenced on 15 December.
What prosecutors say happened
According to prosecutors, Freire was not a student at FIT but brought fentanyl with him when he visited the dorm room of two women there on 18 March. He told them the substance was pure cocaine, prosecutors contend, and although he had referred to it as "straight poison", he urged the women to take it. Both quickly slipped into unconsciousness.
The woman Freire is accused of raping went into a coma and died on 21 March, prosecutors said. Her friend also overdosed and nearly died.
At an April federal court hearing, assistant US attorney Ariana Bloom said Freire had admitted in writing that he raped the woman while she was unconscious. Bloom said he described realising she was unconscious only afterwards, and then seeing her friend on the floor in a similar state. Freire sent pictures of the two women to others while they were passed out and waited about 40 minutes before alerting building security, Bloom said. He never called an ambulance himself.
Chain of supply
A transcript from that hearing shows a prosecutor alleging that Rosales sold the fentanyl at the centre of the case to Peralta, who in turn dealt it to Freire, who gave it to the two women at FIT. Rosales pleaded guilty on 16 September. Updated charges against Peralta and Freire, including the rape allegation against Freire, were filed on Thursday.
Neither man had been arraigned on the superseding charges as of Friday, and both remained in federal custody pending the outcome of the case. The charging documents do not name either of the women or identify FIT, which is part of the State University of New York system, though Freire's lawyer, Mitchell Schwartz, mentioned the college by name at the April hearing. FIT did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
The case is among the latest prominent US prosecutions involving fentanyl, which the federal government identifies as a primary driver of drug-related deaths in the country.
Source: The Guardian World.
Questions and answers
- What is Moises Freire accused of?
- Federal prosecutors allege Freire gave two women at a FIT dorm room fentanyl he described as cocaine, and that he raped one of them while she was unconscious. She later died.
- What happened to the two women?
- Both overdosed after taking the drug on 18 March. The woman Freire is accused of raping went into a coma and died on 21 March; her friend nearly died.
- Who else has been charged in the case?
- Brian Peralta Cabrera, 18, of Queens, faces drug conspiracy charges, and Harry Rosales Pino pleaded guilty in September to plotting to distribute narcotics resulting in death and serious bodily injury.
