Quantcast

Cops: Hofstra Rape Suspects Lured Victim By Stealing Cellphone

2009_09_hofmug.jpg
Mugshots of the suspects: (Clockwise, from top left) Kevin R. Taveras, Rondell Bedward, Stalin Felipe, Jesus L. Ortiz
[Update: Now the Nassau County DA says the student lied about the rape.]

Nassau County police revealed harrowing details of how a Hofstra University student was apparently lured from a campus party into being gang raped by five men in a dorm (four suspects are in custody). The 18-year-old victim had been dancing at Hofstra USA early Sunday morning when Bronx resident Jesus Ortiz, 19, allegedly grabbed her cellphone after a dance. Police Detective Lt. John Allen said, "She repeatedly asked for the cell phone but he was not responsive. He left the club. She followed him out of the club. The cell phone was taken to lure her away from the crowd."

The victim followed Ortiz to a dorm; Allen said, "He got off on a floor she was not familiar with. Whereupon they were immediately met by a second subject [Stalin Felipe, 19, of the Bronx]... She wasn’t interested in meeting him, but the second subject began making advances to her, which she resisted." Felipe allegedly also had a rope. Apparently the two suspects took her into the men's bathroom, tied her up in a stall, and assaulted her. Three other men appeared; Allen said, "The victim asked them to help her, but unbeknownst to her, they were friends of the first two," and the other three then raped her as well, "one by one." Though the victim was screaming, no one heard her cries. The suspects did cut her from the ropes, and Allen said, "They actually had the audacity to ask her if she wanted to go with them." Instead, the victim called campus police.

The other suspects are Kevin Taveras, 20, of Brentwood and Rondell Bedward, 21, of the Bronx, a Hofstra student who Newsday says "worked part-time with the campus public safety department"—he was the one who signed in Ortiz, Felipe, Taveras, and the fifth suspect (who has not been arrested) at the dorm. All four were charged with five counts of rape and held on $350,000 bail; Taveras' stepmother told, "He's a good kid. I'm shocked." A student who knows Bedward said, "It's just shocking to me. can't see Rondell doing something like that."

Some Hofstra students say the Hempstead school didn't alert them immediately—one found out about the rape by looking at a friend's Facebook status.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

Comments [rss]

  • jenchungistheworldsworstreport

    Dear Jen Chung,



    I hope you take the time to reflect on how poorly you wrote "Hofstra Rape Suspects Lured Victim By Stealing Cellphone"



    1) Never take what "the police" say as truth. Every statement MUST include doubt if guilt has not been proven.



    2) You eagerly joined a lynch mob against four innocent black youths. This article is sick and twisted when you go back and read it now.



    3) Anytime you used the word "victim" you should have used "claimant". The only victim in this case is the truth, and oh, the four innocent youths you convicted without a trial.



    4) You claimed "one found out about the rape". What rape? Was there a rape? Do you have evidence of a rape? Has anyone been convicted of a rape?



    You should be sued now for libel, and you will lose. Big.



    Shameful reporting. Shameful.



    (And the comments here (before the truth came out)? Shameful. Racist. And predictable.)

  • emerson

    You people need to take a long look in the memory and come to the realization that you are all racists. You just wanted so much to believe it was true.

  • debra88

    What people do in their free time is their own business. They shouldn't have their faces splattered around based on false accusations.

  • Amanda Harletsch

    These men are guilty of HUGE idiocy -at least.



    This whole mess is what they got for having such gratis easy fun with an INSANE young woman!

  • debra88

    Maybe you should take their photos off this story and stop demonizing them now, unless you want to continue a Fox News like angle on covering "crime"?

  • WhoCaresFU

    The US is USELESS. US men are feminized losers. This women needs to be executed for trying to ruin these mens lives. And yet, at least one of the men, still stick up for her. This is considered a free country (NOT EVEN CLOSE), where any women can open her mouth, say a few words, and completely ruin a mans life. And then, when she admits she LIED, nothing usually happens-WTF. What a joke the WEST is today. FU all losers.

  • Amanda Harletsch

    How noble of you, condemning all women to a life of hell in the hands of the Taliban Mentality for the sake of the penis of these idiots!



    These men are guilty of HUGE idiocy -at least.



    This whole mess is what they got for having such gratis easy fun with an INSANE young woman! She must answer to the authorities for such a waste of time and for whatever rights she ignored.



    But your comment only supports the incomprehensible philosophy of the BRUTE!





    In case you wanna see outside your very small head:



    I see a future a thousand years hence, where a bunch of boys begin wondering if it really true that men were forever doomed to inferior status, to be the inferior, the suspect, sex, owing to their inability to resist conniving metanarratives (insert your favorite religion here) that keep their own bellies full, and everyone else around them in chains.

  • yytttt

    Jen Chung, I heard you took these guys photos down, they're still up! I think these guys deserve about 2000000 apologies right about now.

  • willdk

    Got to love the internet. It's beautiful to see people making illogical and misinformed statements and then having those same statements come back to slap them in their face hours later and additionally giving us all a glimpse of their true humanity or lack of. VIVA LA INTERNET!

  • DarkGemini

    The truth is hard to handle!!!

    The truth is that the bitch lied. And she's a ho. In no particular order.

    You, on the other hand... well, there's a special place in hell for you and your ignorance.



    Here's to hoping you darwin yourself before you procreate and spread the ignorance to yet another generation.



    Innocent until proven guilty... riiiight.

  • DarkGemini

    Dammit.



    This was in response to listenup's little tirade up there.

  • blackbusiness

    Gotta love bts220 and his 'savage animals' question. I agree with Rocknrope (couldn't say it better myself). Let's withhold judgement on these types of cases until the facts are out. There are a lot of disreputable women out there.

  • JacqueMehoff

    wow, your kung fu is strong law101,

    didn't the cops say they're looking for one more guy?

    I hope her family doesn't have money because it's going bye bye.

    they're released already, channel 11 had the tape.

  • law101

    thanks man-- theyre out! im so happy!! no one deserves to be punished for what theyre not responsible for. the story really didnt make sense to me. to follow someone if they stole your phone? cmon..a close friend of mine pulled the same stunt 6 years ago (btw were no longer friends)-- ive taken a close look at cases like these ever since. its shocking to see how much people will lie to cover themselves up. im glad her conscience ate at her. **and for the record, they were hispanic =0)**

  • Rocknrope

    Yep, lucky you guys aren't running the local lynching party. The four of these guys would be castrated and hung from the old oak by the time this skanky slutbag recanted her story.



    Live and learn, eh? Just like the Duke Lacrosse team.



    What can we learn from this story?

  • law101

    IM FEELING GREAT RIGHT NOW TO BE HONEST WITH YOU GUYS. THE INNOCENT ALWAYS PREVAIL. CAN SOMEONE SAY LAWSUIT?

  • JLRodP

    Turns out the chick wanted to perform such act. It's not the first time i've heard such things happen. I've heard stories....

  • efg72

    NBC just reported that the girl recanted the allegations. She now says she was not raped and the sex was consentual. All the young men in this case have been cleared. http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Hofstra-Rape-Victim-Recants-Tale-Suspects-to-be-Released-Report-59568692.html

  • bigguysteve

    Molly - the old-timer forgot to tell you the punchline - Next day, they found out they had the wrong guy so they all went out and had a glass of wine and a big laugh about how they made a mistake.

  • bigguysteve

    Hey Molly



    Does your heart bleed for someone who would send a bunch of guys to jail on a lie. Or is she one of the right people?

  • law101

    I TOLD YOU ALL IT WAS A LIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 SHE RECANTED!!! HAHAHAHAHA I TOLD ALL YOU RETARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IM ECSTATIC!!!!!!!!!!!

  • bigguysteve

    Hey a-holes

    Reread your comments, knowing that it never happened.

  • law101

    like i said. i know first hand. enough said. and when you people say look at their pictures and u can tell -- no you cant. everyone looks like crap in their mugshot. u dont know what they really look like. youll see, when everything comes to light. ive seen this way too many times.

  • Molly

    i was told a story today by a old timer, in his grandpa's times in Sicily the girl was raped, luckily for her by one not many. The little village, not a big city. They didnt go to the police, they went to "friends". The boy was cought, castrated, his hands cut off and eyes plucked out. No jail, no death penatly no taxpayers money going to waste. Do u think by any chance if that would be a real punishment for the crime, would we have to hear any stories like that? Something that will scared the shit out of potential law breaker and make him think twice before doing anything? America is a beautiful country ( so is the whole world) but too many bleeding hearts here and too much pity for wrong people...

  • bigguysteve

    Molly - the old-timer forgot to tell you the punchline - Next day, they found out they had the wrong guy so they all went out and had a glass of wine and a big laugh about how they made a mistake.

  • theevilone

    Damn. That's a fucked up thing to make up and accuse people of. What is wrong with this chick?

  • law101

    DONT YOU FEEL LIKE A GENIUS?! I CALLED IT. I KNEW IT MAN. STUPID WHORE.

  • Wza

    Turns out she made up the story.

    The sex was consensual.



    Wow!

  • law101

    does anyone really know what truly happened? cmon yall i know i dont. youre all so quick to pass judgement but know not one single detail besides that of what the media told you. have you ever heard of innocent until proven guilty? keep your mouths shut please.thank you.

  • marcasm

    Off with their heads. Preferably the one on top, but below will do. And what's with the stepmother "he's a good kid" bullshit. How about for once saying something like, I just realized that he's an animal and a piece of shit and should never be allowed in society ever again.

  • law101

    how could u say something like that? especially about someone u dont know? who do you think you are? maybe youre the peice of shit that shouldnt be allowed in society again! youre the animal. its meatheads like you that dont allow cases to be carried on correctly- you try and manipulate others' thoughts and make them believe something. there are always two sides of a story. and i know, first hand, that when put in a situation like this, girls aren't always the most honest of people.

  • Snoopy

    How about taking out the parents also? Maybe that will shock those useless pieces of shit into realizing that they are responsible for the company they brought into this world.

  • listenup

    They should be punished to the fullest extent and pay for the rest of their lives for what they did!



    They should be made an example of so that no one else can get any ideas and think that they can get away with something like this!!!



    To all people who think they can get away with doing something like this, think again...

    You will lose everything and the law will punish you for the rest of your life.



    Second of all, be warned : racist comment ahead "anyone notice that all these men are black?" coincidence? I think not!

    It is just a fact: Different hormonal levels in certain populations and different sick mentalities about sex in the black culture: disrespectful, treated like an animal act with no love or compassion, knocking up woman left and right and letting the government pay for it..



    Black people out there, YOU NEED TO BE THE EXAMPLE FOR CHANGE IN THIS COUNTRY!!!

    No one will accept this "race card" anymore

    You will be held accountable for your actions and

    you must change this horrible sex culture

    Show respect to one another, first and foremost!!!

    When you knock someone up you must stay with the mother and provide for your child and not run off like a sick crazed lunatic!!



    This rape, I believe is a direct extension of the sick black sex culture that exists today

    This has GOT TO CHANGE guys..

    people have been saying this about you guys for YEARS and you know its true

    SO OWN UP TO IT
    and your people will be all the better for it

    and society wont suffer anymore from this "jungle-lie sex " behavior

    Cant digest the words Ive used , TOUGH!

    The truth is hard to handle!!!

  • icu

    Where's your tirade on the ignorance of stereotyping innocent people, igniting racial hate, ignoring our judicial system of innocent until proven guilty, etc.? The same amount of time that you put into spewing that garbage is what you need to put into writing an apology! You need to take a minute and figure out why you're such a racist, @$$hole who seems sexually intimidated by black people. (Size issues???) "Cant digest the words Ive used , TOUGH!

    The truth is hard to handle!!!"



    BTW, I am a black person who grew up in a two parent household and am now married to a black man who is a great father to our children and wonderful HUSBAND to me. And no, this is not unusual, it's something I grew up seeing throughout my life in my predominately Black/West Indian area of the NE BRONX!!!! Wake up and stop using historically, media-created images to shape your ideas of what's truth vs. fiction.

  • listenup

    There's a lot of stereotyping , sure , but for good reason : If Hispanics and Blacks (and yes, they share the same Baby Mama welfare culture) would not give us reasons to stereotype them(by staying out of crime and getting off the welfare system) then we would have nothing to stereotype about, would we?

    (Of Course no one is saying that whites don't do some of the same---but its more rampant in the black, hispanic community)

    I do believe all are innocent until proven guilty , which I admit was a fault in the media for this case, BUT this does not mean that my points about the black (and you can add in the similar Hispanic community) are not valid---even Obama has been trying to set a better example for the Black community to follow.



    What I was doing, was not "SPEWING", as you call it. It is an outraged citizen, angry with a culture that wreaks havoc on the American population, by becoming economic and security burdens.



    If you want to label me a "racist" go ahead, but truth be told , EVERY race has their issues and yes, "racist"---we are talking about the Black and Hispanic RACE here , so it is racist, by the very definition of the word.



    Stop trying to defend the defunct, broken part of the black, hispanic culture and start to help to fix it.

    And Stop screaming , racist here and racist there....it wont work anymore....just address the problem and everyone will be better off for it.



    I admire your family for having stuck together, and I admire your husband for sticking around---I wish all would follow your example BUT you should know and be aware that (not according to the media) but according to the reality (and if you speak to Blacks , they will agree--including Obama) that the Black and Hispanic family unit is broken-----Many black and hispanic fathers do not stick around to raise their kids----YOU, yes YOU are an EXCEPTION---You are lucky

    DO NOT TELL ME that every black , hispanic family you know has a mother and a father, you are insulting BOTH our intelligence.



    We would have less of this media hooplah and "racism" as you call it, if the Black , Hispanic community reformed themselves and strengthened the family unit---so as to get off welfare and reduce crime.

    There's no way around this, thats the truth

  • EG174

    Nice try jackhole but none of these men are black. I know 3 of them. I went to highschool with them. They are ALL hispanics.

  • Snoopy

    I notice some racial overtones in your comment. How can that be? LMAO

  • GOP

    "Brothers need to pull their pants up." OBAMA

  • GOP

    Cut their dicks off and leave their balls so they still have urges but can't release. Hope they get raped in prison.

  • NannyState

    Four quick rounds to the head...and let Hofstra pay for their cremations.

  • NannyState

    Um, er,...or then again, give them milk and cookies and tuck them into bed and read them a nice story about why they should never hook up with a nasty lying fucking cunt.

  • r1b2

    This is absolutely horrifying, the premeditation necessary is shocking. I feel physically ill after reading this, and I can't imagine the horror this poor girl endured. These scum should be made to suffer for a very long time.

  • r1b2

    This is absolutely horrifying, the premeditation necessary is shocking. I feel physically ill after reading this, and I can't imagine the horror this poor girl endured. These scum should be made to suffer for a very long time.

  • JacqueMehoff

    no remorse in their eyes, none at all.

    all Rapists all look like that. and, that sicko kidnapper of that 11 year old girl, too.

    though one does look like the hispanic Jon Cryer.

  • commisioner gordon

    before we all castrate these fellas, remember the initial outcry against the Duke Lacrosse team...best to hear the full story first.

  • diablofreak

    nice!

  • law101

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Duke_University_lacrosse_case





    im telling you guys, it happens.

    i know plenty of 18 yr olds who have the motto "the more, the merrier."

  • theevilone

    We're not talking about a stripper with a tenuous grasp on reality. I doubt an 18 year old invited 5 guys over to a dorm bathroom and brought her own rope.

  • ak

    What part of that story wasn't full enough for you?

  • bigguysteve

    "best to hear the full story first"



    "What part of that story wasn't full enough for you?"



    The part where it didn't happen

  • commisioner gordon

    you'd think in the 21st century lynch mobs would cease to exist. quite unfortunate so many people are easily swayed by sensationalism and emotions rather than hard evidence.

  • ak

    I wasn't in the throng of people yelling for these guys to be castrated. But I think it makes sense for her story, as told initially, to horrify anyone. And now that it has since been revealed that she lied, just as many people have joined the lynch mob that is saying she's a crazy bitch who ought to be locked in a cell with real rape victims. I assume we don't know the full story now, just like we didn't know it when this post was originally written, but I don't think you can fault anyone for hearing a girl say she was brutally gang raped and feeling sorrow/anger, or for hearing that she lied about it and also feeling sorrow/anger.



    But maybe I'm wrong - when would you suggest we have the "full story" of any crime? And when do you allow outside perspectives? Perhaps you have a book or a pamphlet you've written to explain why you know when it's okay to cry foul play and when it isn't? Thanks, so glad you're here to lead us all to the exact right moment to express the exactly correct emotions.

  • Lewy

    You don't have to listen to these people to know they're worthless - all you have to do is look at them.

  • bigguysteve

    Lewy,



    You cannot tell anything about a person from his skin color, despite what your mother may have told you.

  • Wza

    Horrible, horrible story.

  • Tar_Baby

    What a week it's been for these people, huh?

  • valeriob

    Get rid of this scum. A planned gang-rape? WTF man. I hope your lethal injections are well planned too.



    Poor girl will never ever be the same.



    And shame on Hofstra for not immediately notifying students. Even the most bass ackward universities have email/text systems in place.

  • bigguysteve

    Poor guys will never be the same.



    Did Hofstra send out a message saying "You don't have to be scared after all"?

  • babyhitler

    the most disturbing thing is that 5 guys just premeditated raping a woman with a rope. How do you get to that mentality? is there a conscience switch that turns off or was it never installed in the first place?

  • yytttt

    My theory is they can only entertain one thought at a time, and not more than 5 letters. "Eat" "drink" or in this case "fuck."

  • 5borough

    It almost sounds too terrible to be real. Disturbing.

  • 5borough

    Knew it!

  • yytttt

    This shithead is a disgrace to the name Stalin. Name a kid Jesus, though, and you should expect something like this.

  • yytttt

    Dear Jesus and Stalin. My sincerest apologies.

  • dwayno

    i hope all these dudes get what's coming to them at riker's island.

  • Kojak

    I think the below will work just fine.



    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_castration

  • Snoopy

    Not good enough. It's not permanent. Something more long lasting is needed as well as being branded with a large letter "C" on their forehead seems more appropriate.

  • Rocknrope

    Let me guess, you saw Inglourious Basterds last week?

  • Mr. Shankly

    Send these guys to Langley for the CIA to practice on.

  • Mr. Shankly

    mmmmm, crow, nomnomnom.

  • ChampionOfTheSun

    Rape is always fucked up, but the fact that 5 guys (one who worked for public safety) planned this is really fucked up. The death penalty would be too good for them. They deserved to be raped by horses, repeatedly.

  • TheKlaus

    They should have their yams cut off and fed to one another.

  • emilydickinson

    They should receive life in prison at minimum. The fact that this was so premeditated is horrifying. If you are committing crimes like this at age 19, you have zero chance of redemption.

  • zodak

    i can't believe how planned out it was! what a nightmare, thinking the new guys are there to help & instead they join in. these savages need to be put to death.

  • Potty Boy

    College security is not taken seriously anywhere.

  • Death penalty?

  • bts220

    Savage Animals Sharpton where are you Oh yeah its not a fictious story of a black girl being raped by whites. Hope these animals enjoy the same fate in jail then again they will probably enjoy being raped

  • bigguysteve

    No but it is a fictitious story about a rape - you seem to have missed that point in your little mind-f*rt

  • Snoopy

    Any description of the perps?



    Oops! Never mind.

  • yytttt

    you must feel real smart now, eh, snoopy?

  • djwerdna

    There's that "he's a good kid" comment again.

  • Clarice City

    Animals. Put them down.

blog comments powered by Disqus

send a tip

tips@gothamist.com