Judge gives rapist maximum sentence
Alphonso Barnes, of Hempstead, was convicted of dragging a woman onto the lawn of a Long Beach home and raping her in December 2009. Credit: Handout
A convicted rapist will probably die behind bars after a Nassau judge told him Wednesday his rap sheet was so long that "nothing would make me think you are safe outside of prison for one day of the rest of your life."
Alphonso Barnes, 56, was convicted last month of dragging a woman onto the lawn of a Long Beach home in December 2009 and raping her for more than an hour.
A jury convicted Barnes of first-degree rape, first-degree criminal sexual act and first-degree sexual abuse, prosecutor Jamie Johnson said in Nassau County Court.
Nassau Judge Tammy Robbins ordered him to serve two consecutive sentences of 25 years-to-life and one consecutive sentence of 12 years-to-life -- the maximum time -- meaning that Barnes was sentenced to at least 62 years in prison.
Barnes' victim, whom Newsday is not naming because she is the victim of a sex crime, said in court that a part of her died during the attack.
"Not only was my body violated, but my soul was destroyed," she told Robbins.
Barnes had been out of prison for just two months when he grabbed the woman from behind, forced her into the yard of a West Olive Street home, and raped her, Johnson said. During the attack, Barnes choked the woman and threatened to kill her if she screamed, prosecutors said. He tied her sweater around her face so she could not identify him, they said.
The woman said in court she has moved and switched jobs since the attack, but she still does not feel safe.
"I tried to change my whole life to escape the memory of that horrific night," she said. "But I don't know if I will ever feel completely relaxed again."
DNA evidence collected at the scene led police to Barnes, who had previously been convicted of criminally negligent homicide, attempted burglary and robbery.
Barnes, who was on lifetime parole and living in a shelter in Hempstead, was arrested by the Hempstead Police Department at the offices of the Nassau County Department of Social Services when he went to pick up a housing voucher.
In court Wednesday, Barnes continued to deny his role in the crime. "I feel really sorry for . . . [the victim]," he said. "But she wasn't violated by me that night. I'm not that type of person."
Barnes' lawyer, Jeffrey Groder of Mineola, said his client plans to appeal. "I know his history," Groder said. "The man I've interacted with doesn't seem like the man I see on paper."
'Let somebody else have a chance' Hundreds of Long Island educators are double dipping, a term used to describe collecting both a salary and a pension. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn and Newsday investigative reporter Jim Baumbach report.
'Let somebody else have a chance' Hundreds of Long Island educators are double dipping, a term used to describe collecting both a salary and a pension. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn and Newsday investigative reporter Jim Baumbach report.
