Police arrested a man for posing as a ride-share driver and sexually assaulting dozens of female victims. Not only did he allegedly record his sick crimes, but detectives also uncovered a bevy of “trophies” he collected.
New Yorkers are still reeling as multiple victims have been identified and possibly dozens more are yet to be discovered after 43-year-old Raul Guaman was arrested for a string of horrifying sex crimes. Bay Shore police even say that some of his victims may not even know they were abused by the suspect.
New 12 reports that Guaman was arrested and charged with 11 counts related to a string of break-ins, burglaries, and sexual assaults he committed while posing as a ride-share driver. Investigators say the suspect is a father and illegal immigrant from Ecuador who was finally caught after he ran a stop sign and was found using multiple IDs.
Guaman, who found employment as a construction worker, allegedly targeted sleeping or unconscious women, three of whom have been identified. He began his crime spree by posing as a ride-share driver to pick up women and later returning to their homes to sexually assault them, WLNY reports.
“Police have recovered videos from the defendant’s cellphone, appearing to show him sexually abusing a number of women who are unconscious,” Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini said.
Guaman would allegedly break into his victims’ homes and videotape himself sexually abusing them as they slept. Investigators recovered the footage, which showed him assaulting women who appear to be incapacitated. Guaman pleaded not guilty to all 11 counts and was faced with the possibility of deportation as well as 25 years in prison for his charges. He was not granted bail.
“In my almost 37-year career, this is one of the most shocking cases I’ve ever seen,” said acting Suffolk Police Commissioner Stuart Cameron.
Guaman was connected to the other women after he was identified as the culprit who had broken into a Brightwaters home and recorded his abuse of a sleeping young woman. Police say he returned to the house multiple times and repeatedly assaulted his victim.
“It would later be revealed that he had visited that same house on four other occasions and had secretly taken videos of another victim inside the home,” Sini said.
Investigators also confirmed that Guaman liked to collect “trophies” of his victims. In his home, detectives found 32 cellphones and 16 driver’s licenses, including one belonging to a victim he had left stranded. The woman was abandoned unconscious in Oak Beach with “no idea what had taken place.”
“There does definitely seem to be a serial aspect to this case where he may have done this repeatedly over the course of years to numerous victims,” Cameron said.
Keith Scott of the Long Island Safe Center warned everyone using a ride-share program to practice caution and ensure that the driver is the same one commissioned by the app.
“We are checking these taxis, these cabs before we get in, looking at license plates, checking the right make and model of the car, making sure the driver on our app is the right driver in front of us,” Scott said.
Had Raul Guaman been prevented from illegally crossing the border, dozens of women would have been spared the trauma of this alleged sexual abuse. Sadly, this is an example of just how much damage even one illegal immigrant can do to law-abiding citizens.
