Special Victims Division
D.A. Bragg created the Office’s first Special Victims Division, elevating the role of our Sex Crimes, Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, Human Trafficking, and Elder Abuse Units. The Division includes specially trained Assistant D.A.s, as well as investigators, analysts, and social workers who work exclusively on these extremely sensitive cases.
In line with its mission to center survivors, the Special Victims Division is helmed by leaders with expertise in providing services to survivors and implementing trauma-informed policies.
Notable cases:
- June 2022: We indicted two men for violently trafficking multiple women in their mid-twenties, forcing them to engage in commercial sexual acts in at least six states. The men allegedly coerced the survivors by beating them, brandishing a firearm, withholding their personal identifying documents, and forcing them to take cocaine – all while disguising the financial proceeds by creating a Connecticut-based LLC.
- July 2022: The Office secured the trial conviction of a neurologist for sexually assaulting and raping six patients under his care at the Beth Israel Medical Center. The neurologist not only sexually assaulted his patients but overprescribed serious pain medication to women with chronic and debilitating pain disorders in order to exert control over them.
- October 2022: We indicted a man for attacking and sexually assaulting three women as they jogged along the Hudson River Greenway in Upper Manhattan in September 2022. As alleged, he preyed on women using the same pattern: attacking them in broad daylight as they were out for a run.
Witness Aid Services Unit
Centering survivors means centering the dedicated professionals who provide services and supports in every area of our work. D.A. Bragg is enhancing the role of our Witness Aid Services Unit (“WASU”) in our Special Victims cases, and across the Office. WASU ensures crime victims, witnesses, and their families can access the services they need to rebuild their lives, while helping them navigate New York’s complex court system. Staffed with licensed therapists, WASU provides free counseling and therapy services – ensuring access to mental health services for historically underserved communities – as well as free safety planning, shelter placements, healthcare referrals, and more.
