Hempstead man raped 2 unconscious women, and recorded it, DA says

A Hempstead man already accused of lewd acts in Garden City was arraigned on a 200-count indictment Thursday after he recorded his repeated rape of two unconscious women in Manhattan, prosecutors said.

Cameron L. McDermott, 31, attacked one woman on eight occasions in 2010 and the other five times in 2013, both inside apartments, according to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.

Garden City police detectives had discovered video and photographs of the Manhattan sexual assaults on McDermott’s computers and USB drives after arresting him in January on charges of public lewdness, possession of child porn and child endangerment, authorities said.

McDermott was held without bail after arraignment in state Supreme Court in Manhattan on Thursday on charges of four counts of predatory sexual assault, first-degree rape, 34 counts of first-degree sexual abuse, third-degree aggravated sexual abuse and 160 counts of unlawful surveillance in the second degree, prosecutors said.

His attorney declined to comment.

The victims were known to McDermott and did not realize anything was amiss after they awoke, Manhattan prosecutors said.

The indictment says the women were “physically helpless.” Vance’s office declined to say how the women became unconscious and remained so during the alleged assaults.

McDermott was indicted after investigators in Nassau figured out the recordings took place in Manhattan, paving the way for authorities there to pick up the cases, according to a law enforcement source.

“Our investigation uncovered evidence of the horrific crimes charged by our Manhattan colleagues today,” Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said in the news release.

Garden City police had arrested McDermott Jan. 19 after he allegedly exposed himself in public places to women in five separate instances between Sept. 25 and Nov. 23, the Nassau indictment said. In one case, he was wearing a black wig, lipstick and yoga pants when he approached a woman in her vehicle to ask where the gym was, then shortly afterward pulled down his pants to urinate on her leg and vehicle, according to court papers.

Police said they also found a video of two girls under age 16 in a sexual performance on his laptop computer.

Those cases are pending in Nassau.

“Fortunately, this defendant will face justice thanks to a diligent, court-authorized search of his computers and USB drives that uncovered the evidence of these alleged predatory assaults,” Vance said.

Manhattan prosecutors believe there may be other victims and ask anyone with information to call the Manhattan DA’s sex crimes hotline at 212-335-9373.