Special Victims Division
D.A. Bragg created the Office’s first Special Victims Division, elevating the role of our Intimate Partner & Sexual Violence Bureau, and the 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.
In October 2026, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we announced recent initiatives to combat domestic and intimate-partner violence in Upper Manhattan. The D.A.’s Office expanded its early engagement efforts and pre-arrest investigations and also invested approximately $148,000 in the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation to provide community-based services for survivors of intimate-partner violence. “Early intervention in intimate-partner violence is key to saving lives. Our goal is to identify misdemeanor offenses that signal a high risk of escalation to more serious violence and then intervene with urgency and appropriate resources before those situations spiral into serious danger,” said D.A. Bragg.
In September 2026, we announced our Office’s seizure of 12 domain names of illegal websites that unlawfully published and sold pornographic celebrity “deepfake” videos. “1,200 individuals had their faces and bodies stolen and turned into illegal pornography on 12 different websites – without their knowledge or consent – and today, my Office is announcing that we have seized these websites pursuant to a court order.
In May 2023, we filed a memorandum of support for Senator Zellnor Myrie’s legislation that will work to expand eligibility for victims and survivors of crime to access victim compensation funds by removing the mandatory law enforcement reporting requirement and providing alternative forms of evidence that would show that a qualifying crime was committed. This compensation plays an important role in victims’ healing journey and in fostering safety in communities impacted by crime.
In June 2024, along with NOW-NYC’s President Sonia Ossorio’s D.A. Bragg called on the legislature to close the voluntary intoxication loophole that creates an unjustly high bar for prosecuting perpetrators of rape and sexual assault. “If we are serious about protecting New Yorkers from sexual assault, we must update our laws to fit the reality of the crimes that are occurring.”
- Prosecuting Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence
- Combatting Human Trafficking
- Prosecuting Child Abuse
- Other Notable Cases
Domestic and intimate-partner violence remains one of the most pervasive crimes in New York City, including as a top driver of serious assaults. Our office is deeply committed to addressing Intimate Partner Violence, and we have the resources to help.
Notable Cases:
- January 2026: We announced the sentencing of Geraldo Balbuena to 20 years-to-life in state prison for fatally stabbing his 80-year-old wife Leonilda Nuez Balbuena in their Hamilton Heights apartment.
- March 2024: Dennis Weaver was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in state prison for sexually assaulting his girlfriend at knifepoint after she tried to end their relationship and threatening her from jail to prevent her from cooperating with law enforcement.
Sexual violence takes many forms, and we want survivors to know that we are here to help. We treat rape with the utmost seriousness and have the survivor-centered services and resources to help those who have been assaulted.
Notable Cases:
- October 2026: We announced the indictment of Dr. Tariq Lamki, a neurologist, for allegedly sexually abusing two patients.
- October 2026: We announced the indictment of Joseph LoGiudice, the founder and clinical director of Liberation Psychotherapy, for allegedly sexually assaulting two patients in his care on multiple occasions. This indictment follows earlier charges against liberation psychotherapy therapist Remington Yhap.
- September 2026: Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 15 years in state prison following his trial conviction for violently sexually assaulting Miriam Haley.
- May 2026: Agustin Diaz was sentenced to 15 years in state prison for sexually assaulting four women – all Spanish-speaking, recent immigrants – by falsely offering them employment opportunities to lure them to secluded places.
- May 2026: Jermaine Longmire was sentenced to 13 years in state prison for attempting to rape a woman in Central Park. “I want to thank the survivor for bravely testifying in this trial. I hope this sentencing can offer a sense of closure as she continues to heal from this traumatic assault,” said D.A. Bragg.
- April 2026: Donovan Murphy was convicted at trial for entering a woman’s Upper East Side apartment while she slept and raping her.
- March 2026: Cecil McKenzie was sentenced to an aggregate of 7 years-to-life in prison following his trial conviction for serial subway sex abuse. “A jury found McKenzie has repeatedly harmed women on the subway, and he will now serve a significant prison sentence,” said D.A. Bragg.
- December 2025: Jancys Santiago was sentenced to 20 years in state prison for raping a 27-year-old woman in her Midtown apartment in May 2000.
- November 2025: Quame Taylor was sentenced to nine years in state prison for raping an acquaintance while she slept. “I thank the survivor for her resilience and her strength in speaking at today’s sentencing,” said D.A. Bragg.
- September 2025: We announced the indictment of Anthony Smith for allegedly placing a woman in a chokehold until she lost consciousness and sexually assaulting her on a Midtown sidewalk.
- August 2025: Keanu Martinez was sentenced to 40 years-to-life in state prison for raping a 30-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl on separate occasions in April 2024 after threatening to cut them with a boxcutter.
- July 2025: Ellow Williams pleaded guilty for following a woman to her SoHo apartment building before strangling her and raping her.
- July 2025: Avon Long was sentenced to 32-years-to-life in prison for sexually assaulting and strangling an 81-year-old woman in her apartment.
- May 2025: We announced the indictment of Felix Rojas for allegedly sexually assaulting a physically helpless man on a Manhattan-bound R train. “This conduct is egregious, and we will prosecute this case to the fullest extent,” said D.A. Bragg.
- April 2025: We announced the 116-count indictment of Ryan Hemphill, an attorney, for the alleged predatory sexual assault of six women in his apartment. “Further, we allege that he threatened the women and used his position as an attorney to intimidate them and prevent them from reporting these crimes,” said D.A. Bragg.
- March 2025: We announced the indictment of three postal workers for allegedly kidnapping an incapacitated colleague by dragging her body from the loading dock of a post office into the back of a parked postal truck, where one of them allegedly attempted to rape her.
- December 2024: Jamel McIver was sentenced to 20 years in state prison for following a 21-year-old woman into her Upper West Side apartment building and raping her. “I thank this brave survivor for coming forward and sincerely hope the resolution of this case can offer her a sense of justice,” said D.A. Bragg.
- October 2024: We announced the sentencing of Victor Jenkins to 50 years-to-life in state prison for violently raping two young women at knifepoint after responding to their online advertisements for commercial sex. “Victor Jenkins targeted vulnerable women who he thought would not report his brutal attacks, even explicitly telling one that law enforcement would not believe her. Not only did our prosecutors believe these women, so did a jury of 12 New Yorkers,” said D.A. Bragg.
- August 2024: We announced the sentencing of Mehrdad Gamshadzahi to 15 years in state prison for raping a 64-year-old woman in the hotel where they both sheltered during the early days of the COVID pandemic.
- August 2024: Geovanni Romero Gonzales was sentenced for sexually assaulting a woman behind a parked car in East Harlem. “I thank our prosecutors for their careful handling of this sensitive case, and most of all, the survivor for her bravery in testifying about this traumatic attack,” said D.A. Bragg.
- July 2024: Carl Phanor was sentenced to 25-years-to-life in state prison for violently sexually assaulting three women along the Manhattan waterfront on three separate occasions.
- May 2024: Christopher Villacis was sentenced to 20 years-to-life in state prison for holding his former neighbor captive in his East Village apartment and repeatedly beating, strangling, and sexually assaulting her over the course of three days.
- May 2024: Terence Banks was convicted at trial for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl skateboarding on Randall’s Island and raping a 47-year-old woman, less than 100 yards from the first attack.
- January 2024: Christopher Macias, a club promoter, was sentenced to 18 years-to-life in prison for raping two women in his car in September 2021. “Christopher Macias abused his power as a supervisor to assault two survivors, scarring them with trauma that they face to this day,” said D.A. Bragg.
- January 2024: Elvis Nina Pichardo was sentenced to 20 years in state prison for sexually assaulting three people in Inwood Hill Park in the span of one hour.
- December 2023: We announced the indictment of Albert Brown for allegedly sexually assaulting and robbing a woman at gunpoint on a street in East Harlem.
- 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.
