The migrant accused of raping a woman at knifepoint near a popular beach boardwalk in New York City’s Brooklyn borough has made his first court appearance as details are emerging about him and another suspect’s prior run-ins with the law.
David Davon-Bonilla, who the New York City Police Department says is facing charges including first-degree rape and sexual abuse in connection to the alleged attack Sunday night in Coney Island, is being held without bail after pleading not guilty, according to reports.
The station says the 24-year-old crossed the U.S.-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas in December 2022 and headed to New York City after telling Border Patrol agents at the time that he was intending to travel to Miami.
Then in April last year, Davon-Bonilla sexually assaulted a 34-year-old woman while staying at a hotel-turned-shelter in another part of Brooklyn and later pleaded guilty to assault in the second degree, WABC reports.
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Davon-Bonilla reportedly served time at New York City’s notorious Rikers Island prison complex before being released on June 24.
“After he spent over a year in jail and following the victim’s request not to testify in any court proceedings, this defendant was offered a plea of time served and court-managed programming,” WABC quoted a district attorney’s office as saying.
An NYPD source told Fox News that Davon-Bonilla is a migrant from Nicaragua and that the incident at Coney Island happened outside a hotel housing asylum seekers.
The other suspect arrested following the alleged rape in Brooklyn this week, 37-year-old Leovando Moreno, also pleaded not guilty, according to WABC.
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Moreno, who was charged with second-degree assault, is being held on $20,000 cash bail and has an outstanding warrant in Seaside Heights, New Jersey for public lewdness dating back to an August 2022 incident, WABC reports.
The New York City Police Department did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
It said Monday that the victim was attacked around 9 p.m. on Sunday night near Surf Avenue and West 16th Street in Coney Island.
“Upon arrival officers were informed a 46-year-old female was approached by two unidentified individuals and forced her to the ground by holding a knife to her throat. One of the individuals forcibly raped the victim,” an NYPD spokesperson said. “A 34-year-old male victim attempted to intervene and was struck with an object by the second individual.”
Police say the female victim was taken to a local hospital in stable condition, while a male victim – whom the New York Post identified through law enforcement sources as her boyfriend – refused medical attention.
Fox News’ Alexis McAdams contributed to this report.
