By Forum Staff
The Richmond Hill rapist who assaulted a teenage girl in February 2016 will spend three years in prison for his heinous actions.
Albert Premnauth, 24, of Jamaica Avenue, was found guilty of second-degree rape, second-degree criminal sexual act and endangering the welfare of a child.
Acting Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone Jr., presided at trial, and sentenced Premnauth to three years in prison, followed by ten years’ post release supervision and registration as a sex offender.
Premnauth met the 14-year-old victim through an 18-year-old friend of hers who owed him money for marijuana. The two men then hatched an illicit plan to settle the debt with the girl providing sexual favors in exchange for the money owed. To coerce the girl, her friend threatened to post a nude video of her on the internet if she didn’t agree to have sexual intercourse with Premnauth.
In a powerful statement, District Attorney Richard Brown warned against the dangers of taking and sharing such photographs. “This case tragically demonstrates how dangerous it is for youngsters to take explicit photos or videos of themselves and then send them to others – even those they consider to be trusted friends. Once an image is sent, the sender loses all control over where that image goes next. 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. That video then ended up in the hands of the 18-year-old male friend… The defendant in this case, forced the girl to have sex with him even though she cried and literally begged not to be raped.”
The saga unfolded in early 2016, when the victim sent a nude video of herself to her 14-year-old female friend as a joke. She in turn shared the video with an 18-year-old friend, who owed the defendant money for marijuana. The 14-year-old girl was then coerced to either have sex with Premnauth or have the nude video posted online.
A meeting was arranged and on February 20, 2016, the victim met the defendant at his home. The girl told Premnauth that she was just 14 and begged him to give her time to pay the money the friend owed. But the defendant refused, forced her to have sex and then gave her $100 cash and a pair of Beats by Dre headphones as payment. Both the cash and the headset were given to the 18-year-old, who sold them to pay Premnauth.
