Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. announced on Wednesday, Jan. 17, the sentencing of Elvis Nina Pichardo, 43, from the The Bronx, to 20 years in state prison and 20 years of post-release supervision for sexually assaulting three people in Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan in July 2021.

 

On Dec. 6, 2023, Nina Pichardo pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to two counts of attempted rape in the first degree, one count of assault in the first degree as a sexually motivated felony, and one count of menacing in the second degree.

 

In the context of the announcement, Bragg said, “Elvis Nina Pichardo terrified our community when he attacked three different people enjoying a warm summer day in Inwood Hill Park in the span of less than one hour.” He added, “As the sentence today makes clear, this type of repugnant conduct will not be tolerated.”

 

According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, and as admitted in the defendant’s guilty plea, at approximately 11:10 a.m. on July 21, 2021, Nina Pichardo approached a 34-year-old woman, threatened to rape her, and hit her when she refused to follow him. She attempted to call 911, but the defendant took her phone. When a bystander approached, the woman asked for help and Nina Pichardo ran off with her phone.

 

The court heard that at approximately 11:30 a.m. Nina Pichardo approached a 40-year-old man walking his two dogs and made similar sexual comments and threats. He demanded the victim’s cellphone, and when he replied that he didn’t have one and began to leave, Nina Pichardo picked up a large stick and chased him until they encountered another person on the path.

 

The court also heard that immediately afterward, Nina Pichardo approached a 44-year-old woman while carrying the stick and grabbed her. They struggled, and Nina Pichardo repeatedly struck her head against the concrete before attempting to rape her. A bystander found the disoriented victim alone and called 911. Nina Pichardo had already fled the scene with the victim’s backpack and various belongings.

 

According to the Manhattan DA’s office, the defendant was arrested in connection to a public lewdness incident several hours after the assaults, and charged with the Inwood Hill Park attacks soon thereafter.

 

Assistant DA Courtney Groves handled the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant DAs Coleen Balbert, chief of the Forensic Sciences Unit, Shannon Lucey, deputy chief of the Special Victims Division, Vanessa Puzio, deputy chief of the Intimate Partner & Sexual Violence Bureau, and Nicole Blumberg, chief of the Intimate Partner & Sexual Violence Bureau, as well as Executive Assistant DA Justin McNabney, chief of the Special Victims Division.

 

District Attorney Bragg thanked the NYPD, including the entire Manhattan Special Victims Squad, and specifically Detective Sean Conway.

 

He was convicted of assault in the first degree as a sexually motivated felony, a class B felony, one count of attempted rape in the first degree, a class C felony, two counts of menacing in the second degree, and one count of a Class A misdemeanor.