Three U.S. Postal Service employees dragged an unconscious colleague from an after-work birthday party at a Manhattan post office and into the back of a postal truck, where one of them attempted to rape her, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The victim was celebrating a colleague’s birthday party and having a few drinks at the post office on Fourth Ave. at E. 11th St. in the East Village on the evening of June 8, 2023, when she suddenly became disoriented, unable to control her body and lost several hours of memory, prosecutors said.
Surveillance footage from inside the post office shows the victim, clearly incapacitated, being supported by colleagues Kirt Alcala, 38, Edward Chou, 40, and Daniel Jean, 38. The video captures Jean slapping and groping the woman’s backside as he and Alcala struggled to keep her upright, her head rolling limply on her shoulders, according to prosecutors.
As Jean and Alcala dragged the woman out of the post office’s loading bay, despite her being in a state of near paralysis, the video shows her desperately trying to hold onto a railing. However, the men repeatedly pry her hands away and moved her toward the postal truck parked outside, prosecutors charged.
One witness heard cries for help and immediately dialed 911, while another captured cellphone video showing the victim lying unconscious on the sidewalk before being hoisted by her arms and legs and carried into the back of the truck, prosecutors said.
When police arrived, they found Alcala and Chou seated in the front of the truck, refusing to cooperate and denying anyone was inside. But prosecutors said officers soon heard banging sounds and cries for help from the back, and moments later, Jean emerged with his pants unzipped.
The victim was discovered inside, disoriented and unable to walk, with her pants undone. She has no memory of much of the evening until she woke up in an ambulance, according to prosecutors.
Two days later, she sought medical attention for vaginal pain, and a forensic exam revealed male DNA on her underwear, which was later linked to Jean.
All three men were charged with kidnapping and sexually motivated kidnapping. Jean was hit with additional charges of attempted rape, sexual abuse, attempted sexual abuse and forcible touching.
All three men pleaded not guilty to the charges at their arraignments in Manhattan on Wednesday. Judge Michele Rodney set bail for Alcala at $50,000 cash or $150,000 bond, and for Chou at $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond, records show. Jean was held without bail.
Originally Published:
