Parolee accused of choking, raping woman in SoHo apartment building
SOHO, Manhattan (PIX11) — A parolee is accused of choking and raping a woman after following her into her Manhattan apartment building early Sunday, police said.
Ellow Williams, 30, hid behind a parked car and followed the 23-year-old woman into her SoHo building after she got out of a cab at around 4:10 a.m., according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
“She enters the apartment with her key fob into the lobby. While the door is still open, the perp runs in behind,” Kenny said during a press briefing Tuesday.
Williams allegedly put the victim in a chokehold and threatened to shoot her before raping her on the second floor of the building near Thompson and Prince streets, police said. Williams also allegedly stole $40 from the victim before fleeing the scene.
“If you scream, I’ll shoot you,” the suspect allegedly told the woman, according to police.
Williams, a Manhattan resident, was charged with rape, robbery, strangulation, burglary, and sex abuse, according to court records. His arraignment was pending on Wednesday.
Williams has an extensive rap sheet and was out on parole for a 2019 robbery when he was arrested Tuesday, Kenny said. He was convicted of a gunpoint robbery in Manhattan and was released in March 2023 after being sentenced to 42 months in prison, police said.
Kenny said citywide rapes are slightly up this year, with 454 reported incidents, and police have made 215 arrests.
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the New York City area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.
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