By Anthony Rifilato
Claude Solomon, 26, of 989 Ceil Place in Baldwin, was arrested on June 19 at 5:30 a.m. after police said he lured the woman into his car by flashing his deceased father's police badge, as well as a Police Benevolent Association card, and using police lingo to convince the woman that he was a cop. He then raped the woman and videotaped the ordeal, said Deputy Inspector Arthur Frisenda.
After picking up the woman, Solomon drove her in his black Dodge from Queens Plaza to Baldwin and allegedly told her that if she did not have sex with him, he would arrest her. When she spurned his attempts, Frisenda said Solomon, who is 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, blindfolded and handcuffed the woman, then raped her on Stanton and Grand Avenue.
Afterward the abuse continued, according to Frisenda, who said that Solomon then drove to Milburn Court, where he sodomized the woman.
It was around that time that a Nassau County police officer, Frank Ruvolo, saw the suspicious vehicle -- whose license plates were covered with towels -- parked on Milburn Court. Ruvolo observed Solomon outside the vehicle, leaning into the passenger side, where the visibly upset woman was sitting. Ruvolo, after deciding to investigate, asked if everything was all right.
"She screamed, 'No, I've been raped,'" said Frisenda, adding that the woman frantically held up her handcuffed wrist. Frisenda said that Solomon quickly drove away, and Ruvolo gave a brief chase, southbound from Milburn Avenue, ending at Brooklyn Avenue. As Ruvolo approached the vehicle, he heard the woman screaming for help. Ruvolo ordered Solomon to get out of the vehicle, then handcuffed and arrested him.
The woman, whose name was not released, was taken to North Shore Hospital.
Solomon faces a litany of charges: first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, first-degree criminal impersonation and second-degree kidnapping. He was arraigned on June 20 at First District Court in Hempstead, and is being held in lieu of $255,000 bond. According to police, Solomon has prior arrests for trespassing, grand larceny and harassment.
Police are still investigating the incident, and Frisenda said that among the items police recovered were a pellet gun resembling a .45 caliber pistol, a cell phone, handcuffs and a police notebook. Police are also investigating a videotape discovered in the vehicle. The badge Solomon flashed had belonged to his deceased father, who was a retired New York City transit officer.
