Long Island man pleads not guilty to rape of woman in swanky downtown hotel

A 27-year-old man from Long Island has been arraigned for allegedly drugging and raping a 26-year-old woman identified in press reports as a Columbia dental student at the posh Ritz Carlton Hotel in Battery Park on April 7.

According to a source familiar with the case, Sean Ahearn met the alleged victim online.

Detectives arranged for the victim to have a phone conversation, which they listened to, and later arrested Ahearn in East Harlem Saturday night, police said.

Ahearn, who was arraigned Sunday, is alleged to have stated, "Yes I gave her liquid 'X,' " according to the Manhattan district attorney's office, and to have raped the woman while she was unconscious. He pleaded not guilty to "facilitating a sex offense with a controlled substance" and third-degree rape.

"Unfortunately, detectives decided to arrest Sean Ahearn before they had the whole story, most of which was readily available on his cellphone," said Ahearn's attorney, John Carman.