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Justina Ferguson, of Middletown, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault on Wednesday, Nov. 24, according to Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler.
At about 1 a.m. on Aug. 15, 2020, Ferguson and others tricked staff at a Wallkill hotel into giving her the room information and a key to the room where her ex was staying, Hoovler said.
The DA's Office said when she pleaded guilty, Ferguson admitted that she entered her ex's room and assaulted the woman with a weapon made of a knotted rope containing a weight, commonly known as a "monkey-fist."
One of the individuals who went into the room with Ferguson recorded the incident, Hoovler said.
Hoovler said the woman suffered a serious head wound during the attack.
Ferguson is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 17, the DA's Office reported.
“This defendant’s actions in lying to hotel staff to get access to her former boyfriend’s room and bringing a weapon, which she used to brazenly assault a helpless sleeping woman, were clearly premeditated, and it is likely that the recording of the assault was also planned,” Hoovler said. “We may never know exactly what the defendant planned on doing with the recording of this heinous assault, but recording victims as they are assaulted, whether to keep as trophies, or to share with others, significantly revictimizes those who are entitled to our sympathy and support.”
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