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Carlos Paute of White Plains was sentenced to 14 years in prison, followed by 15 years post-release supervision after pleading guilty to first-degree rape, a violent felony, in December last year. Once he is released, Paute will have to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act guidelines.
Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino, Jr. said that at approximately 11 p.m. on Nov. 8, 2017, Paute followed his victim after she departed from the Metro-North station in White Plains.
While walking on a footpath near the Cadillac dealership, which accesses a Rockledge Avenue apartment complex, Paute began running up to her and grabbed her.
Paute grabbed his victim in a headlock, punched her and forced her to the ground. He continued to assault her and covered her nose and mouth.
Scarpino said that, panicked and unable to breathe, the victim stopped screaming. At that time, despite the victim repeatedly telling him “no,” Paute raped her.
Scarpino said that Paute threatened further harm if she ran away quickly and once he fled, she redressed, ran home and notified police.
She was then treated at Westchester County Medical Center for her injuries sustained in the assault. The White Plains Police Department launched an investigation, and Paute was arrested days after the attack.
Assistant District Attorney Michelle Lopez, Chief of the Sex Crimes Bureau, read from the victim’s impact statement which addressed Paute at his sentencing.
“You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence and my own voice until today,” she said. “I am a real person who went through torture. I am not a statistic or a nameless face on the street. I am your sister, your daughter, wife or your girlfriend. What happened to me was real.”
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