The authorities have recently apprehended a man who was formerly jailed and held accountable for a sexual offense. This individual’s charge concerns an atrocious act against a woman at a local immigrant shelter located in Brooklyn. He was emancipated from the correctional facility the previous month, following his official declaration of guilt.
According to law enforcement, an appalling incident occurred underneath the renowned boardwalk at Coney Island. A female of 46 years was subjected to a brutal sexual attack by two male individuals. The men intimidated her with a weapon, a blade to be precise, and one of them perpetrated an act of violence against her companion when he bushed to her defense.
In connection to the horrific incidents that took place on a Sunday evening near Surf Avenue and West 16th Street, two men were formally accused. One individual had to answer for a rape charge, while the other was prosecuted for assault.
A man named David Davon-Bonilla, aged 24, faced several charges, including first-degree rape, assault, sexual abuse, menacing, and fourth-degree illegal possession of a weapon as detailed by the police. Historical records indicate that Mr. Davon-Bonilla had confessed to an incident of sexual abuse at a migrant shelter in the previous year.
Leovando Moreno, another individual involved, 37 years of age, encountered charges of third-degree assault for physically attacking the 34-year-old male companion with a metallic object, as stated in the official criminal complaint. Further charges included second-degree menacing, second-degree harassment, and fourth-degree illegal possession of a weapon as per the police records.
The accused, Mr. David Davon-Bonilla and Mr. Moreno, did not have stable homes established, as reported by the police. By the time of late afternoon on the following Monday, they remained unarraigned. Up to that point, there were no legal representatives documented for either party in the Brooklyn Criminal Court.
Former details reveal that Mr. Davon-Bonilla originates from Nicaragua, with previous encounters with the law and court proceedings registered under the first name Daniel. Last year, he faced charges for an assault towards a woman at a migrant shelter located in Brooklyn as per a criminal complaint. On the other hand, Leovando Moreno hails from Mexico and has an arrest record from 2022 in New Jersey due to public indecency on the Seaside Heights boardwalk according to law enforcement archives.
On the evening of the incident, the female victim, who was last known to be residing in a shelter, was settling to sleep on the seaside. She, along with her boyfriend, had found a temporary home underneath the boardwalk for the preceding two weeks, as disclosed by a police report. During the assault, her boyfriend had left to fetch coffee while she was arranging their bedding over a tarp.
The situation escalated when Mr. Davon-Bonilla appeared and proposed a monetary transaction for sexual favors. After the woman rejected the proposition, he responded violently, forcing her onto the ground while threatening her with a knife, culminating in the act of rape as conveyed by the report. Furthermore, the report emphasized that the woman was not familiar with her attacker.
Upon returning, the woman’s boyfriend discovered the ongoing assault and attempted to intervene. At this point, Mr. Moreno, who had been standing guard, assaulted the boyfriend with a metallic pipe as detailed in the official document. Despite the assault, the boyfriend refused to seek medical aid as per the details provided by the local police.
Following the harrowing incident, the woman was promptly transported to a public hospital in Coney Island for medical attention. Her medical status was reported as stable by Sunday.
The accused, David Davon-Bonilla and Leovando Moreno, as well as the couple, are known to frequently sleep underneath the boardwalk at Coney Island, according to police reports.
Looking back at Mr. Davon-Bonilla’s previous case that occurred the previous year, he was charged in Brooklyn for sexual assault and illegal imprisonment as detailed in a legal complaint.
Mr. Davon-Bonilla spent a total of 15 months in jail as the case unfolded, as shared by Oren Yaniv, a spokesperson for the attorney’s office in Brooklyn. The victim expressed her unwillingness to testify, leading to Mr. Davon-Bonilla’s plea of guilty in return for the served time and a requirement to participate in court-appointed programming. This outcome led to his release in June.
The charges in the 2023 case may lead to a severe consequence for Davon-Bonilla due to his violation of the plea agreement. ‘He now faces a maximum penalty of seven years,’ stated Oren Yaniv.
As of August 8, a total of 10 rape cases have occurred this year in the 60th Precinct where the incident took place, according to collected police data. This figure represents an increase of six cases from the same duration in the previous year. Four of these attacks were reported near Surf Avenue. Reports also indicate a rise in rapes throughout the city, recording 969 incidences until August 4, reflecting an 11 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023, based on police statistics.