Photo Courtesy of Beats by Dre
Premnauth forced the victim to have sex with him, then paid her $100 and gave her a pair of Beats by Dre headphones.
By Forum Staff
What began as a joke between two 14-year-olds, ended in the rape of one of them and the conviction, last week, of a Richmond Hill man for various charges.
Albert Premnauth, 24, of Jamaica Avenue, was charged with rape, criminal sexual acts and other crimes,was convicted last week, and will face sentencing in mid-July, after a jury found him guilty of forcing himself on the 14-year-old girl last year.
Queens District AttorneyRichard A. Brown detailed Premnauth’s offenses. “This case tragically demonstrates how dangerous it is for teenagers to take explicit images or videos of themselves and then to send them to others – even those they consider to be their friends. Once the image is sent, they have lost all control over what happens next with the images. In this instance the 14-year-old victim, as a joke, sent a naked video of herself to her 14-year-old female friend on Snapchat. The video then ended up in the hands of the 18-year-old male friend, who threatened to post it online if the victim did not have sex with the defendant to pay off his debt.”
The victim became entangled with Premnauth after she was offered up to barter off the debt of her friend with sex.
DA Brown explained that despite the fact that the teen-aged victim, begged Premnauth not to rape her, he continued with his violation of her.
The situation unfolded after the victim sent a nude video of herself to her 14-year-old female friend as a jokeearly in 2016.
That friend then shared the video with an 18-year-old man, who owed the defendant money for marijuana. The victim was then left with the choice of having sex with Premnauth or having the nude video posted on the Internet.
A meeting was arranged and on February 20, 2016, the victim met the defendant at his home. The girl told Premnauth that she was only 14 and begged him to give her time to pay him the money allegedly owed by the other man. But the defendant refused, forced her to have sex with him and then paid her $100 cash and gave her a pair of Beats by Dre headphones.
Both the cash and the headset were turned over to the 18-year-old, who sold them to pay back Premnauth.
Following a week-long trial, a jury found the defendant guilty of second-degree rape, second-degree criminal sexual act and endangering the welfare of a child late last Friday.
Acting Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone Jr., who presided at trial, indicated the defendant faces up to seven years in prison at sentencing.
When he is released, Premnauth will be required to register as a sex offender.
