Woman Raped

Arrest in L.B. rape, kidnapping

Social Services housed suspect at Long Beach Motor Inn

Posted

Alphonso Barnes, 54, of Island Park, was arrested and charged with rape, aggravated sexual abuse, a criminal sexual act, kidnapping, assault and robbery after an incident that occurred in Long Beach on Dec. 5.

Long Beach police officers were out on patrol, according to their report, when they found the female victim near Magnolia Boulevard and West Olive Street at about 4:30 a.m. The woman reported that while walking down West Olive, she had been grabbed from behind and forced into a yard of a home, where she was raped and held against her will.

Police found DNA evidence at the crime scene. Barnes was arrested in Hempstead on Dec. 16, and arraigned in Long Beach City Court. He is being held without bail at the Nassau County Correctional Facility.

“Kudos to the detectives for the work they did in running down every lead to ensure that we located and captured this guy,” said Lt. Bruce Meyer, a spokesman for the Police Department.

Meyer said on Wednesday morning that he still did not have access to information about the victim’s age and residence, nor where she was going or coming from at the time. “I can tell you that there was absolutely no relation between the two,” he said.

According to Meyer, Barnes was living at the Long Beach Motor Inn on Austin Boulevard in Island Park, where Nassau County Social Services houses homeless people, including convicted sex offenders, according to county officials. Barnes had been arrested previously for manslaughter, rape, burglary and robbery, Meyer said.

Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.