NYPD (greaterGC) – Two migrants were arrested for a knifepoint rape in Coney Island, including one who had been released from jail less than two months earlier after sexually assaulting another woman at a city-funded shelter, authorities reported Monday.
Daniel Davon-Bonilla, a 24-year-old from Nicaragua, allegedly grabbed a 46-year-old woman, threw her to the ground, and raped her while holding a knife to her throat on Sunday around 9 p.m. under the Riegelmann Boardwalk, according to police and sources.
Davon-Bonilla, who is believed to have illegally crossed the US border in Texas in December 2022, had a history of sex crime busts.
[Washington Times] This was not Davon-Bonilla’s first sex crime arrest. He is believed to have crossed the US border illegally in Texas in December 2022. Four months later, he was arrested for allegedly raping a woman at a La Quinta Hotel on Third Avenue in Park Slope, which had been converted into a migrant shelter.
He spent about a year in jail before accepting a plea deal that resulted in his release in June, according to corrections officials and Brooklyn prosecutors.
After spending approximately one year in prison, he eventually entered into a plea agreement, which resulted in his release and return to the community in June. This information was confirmed by corrections officials and Brooklyn prosecutors.
The horrific attack on Sunday occurred near Surf Avenue and West 16th Street. A poorly lit walkway leads to a space under the boardwalk, which locals say is frequented by vagrants and was found littered with drug paraphernalia and cans of White Claw on Monday.
Sources revealed that the victim, who told police she had been living under the boardwalk with her boyfriend for two weeks, was approached by Davon-Bonilla while she was alone. He offered her trinkets in exchange for sex, and when she declined, he attacked her, choking and pinning her down while he raped her.
According to sources, Leovando Moreno, a Mexican migrant, allegedly attacked the woman’s boyfriend with a pipe when he intervened to stop the brutal assault.
According to Daily Mail, The woman’s boyfriend arrived during the assault and fought with Davon-Bonilla, but was then blindsided from behind by Moreno, sources said.
Davon-Bonilla has been charged with first-degree rape, second-degree assault, first-degree sexual abuse, menacing, and criminal possession of a weapon. He pleaded not guilty to the charges during a late-night arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Monday. He is being held without bail and is scheduled to return to court on Friday.
According to US Department of Homeland Security sources, Davon-Bonilla entered the country illegally through Eagle Pass, Texas, on December 7, 2022. He was found by border agents sneaking through dense brush.
He was taken into Border Patrol custody and told agents he planned to live in Miami, providing the address of a homeless shelter. However, he seems to have eventually moved to New York City. Sources indicate he stayed at the La Quinta, where he was accused of raping a 34-year-old woman on April 3, 2023. He allegedly pulled her hair and held her down during the attack, as detailed in a criminal complaint.
Davon-Bonilla was charged with criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime, sexual misconduct, and sexual abuse, according to the complaint. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office reached a deal with him, granting him credit for time served in exchange for a guilty plea to second-degree assault, as the victim chose not to testify.
City Department of Correction officials reported that Davon-Bonilla was incarcerated on Rikers Island from April 4, 2023, until June 24, placing him back on the streets less than two months before the recent rape.
src:nypost.com
US immigration officials did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Sources attributed the issue to New York’s sanctuary policies, which they claim obstruct US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from deporting dangerous criminals. Sanctuary cities and states often refuse to detain illegal migrants charged with crimes for federal immigration authorities, impeding deportation proceedings.
“When sanctuary cities and states don’t share immigration information or cooperate with ICE, ICE can’t do its job and remove individuals with criminal histories who are here illegally,” a DHS source said.
Another DHS source criticized the Biden administration’s restricted immigration enforcement priorities and the lack of cooperation from sanctuary cities with ICE, attributing the latest crime to these factors.
“I have child molesters that I can’t arrest because they’re not a priority,” the source added.
Moreno, who is homeless, was arraigned on charges of second-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon for the Sunday attack in Brooklyn criminal court Monday night. He pleaded not guilty and was held on $20,000 cash bail.
His lawyer, Jay Schwitzman, argued that Moreno did not know Davon-Bonilla. Schwitzman claimed that Moreno heard the woman’s screams, ran over, and saw Davon-Bonilla and the victim’s boyfriend fighting. Moreno allegedly attempted to break up the fight with a pipe.
“We expect to conduct a thorough investigation,” Schwitzman told reporters outside the courtroom. “But he didn’t assist in any kind of sexual assault. There was a fight between two people, and he went to break it up. He didn’t know what was happening … he heard screams and intervened.”
Moreno is also scheduled to return to court on Friday.
