BY: DM
Published 3 weeks ago
In New York City Criminal Court on Aug. 26, Judge Kathryn Paek sentenced Nicholas Encarnacion to a lengthy prison term for raping his transgender neighbor in 2022, according to amNewYork.
Court records show the assault happened late on Oct. 9, 2022. Around 10:30 p.m., Siobhan Ebert left dinner with her fiancé and friends and entered the elevator in their Two Bridges building. Encarnacion, who lived downstairs, followed her inside and blocked the doorway to keep the doors from closing. When Ebert said her fiancé was waiting and tried to leave, Encarnacion forced himself on her, kissing and groping her in the elevator. Ebert managed to escape, but Encarnacion chased her into a dimly lit stairwell. He shoved her to the floor and raped her. Ebert was left bleeding and in pain. Officers treated her injuries and arrested Encarnacion that same night.
A jury later convicted Encarnacion of first-degree rape for the attack. During his sentencing, Ebert showed resilience by speaking out in court.
Nicholas Encarnacion was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
At the Aug. 26 hearing, Encarnacion stood handcuffed before Judge Paek while Ebert sat nearby. When given the chance to speak, Ebert delivered a brief but searing victim impact statement. According to amNewYork, she told Encarnacion, “I hate you. You ruined my life.”
Judge Paek then imposed a 12-year term in state prison. Afterward, Manhattan District Attorney Bragg reiterated that Ebert’s courtroom testimony had been vital. “This victim’s night out ended in horror when she was brutally raped in the stairwell of her apartment building,” Bragg said. “She continues to suffer the long-term physical and emotional consequences of this incident, and I hope that she can fully heal and recover.”
Attacks on trans women in the U.S. have increased.
Advocates say this case reflects a troubling national pattern. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) reported at least 32 violent deaths of transgender or gender-expansive people in the U.S. in 2024. The group noted that victims were “overwhelmingly young and people of color,” with 78% people of color and 56% Black trans women. Gun violence played a major role. Everytown, a gun-safety group, counted 33 transgender or gender-expansive people killed between late 2023 and late 2024. Of those, 21 died from gunshot wounds.
In Sept. 2024, a Minneapolis man named Damarean Bible, 25, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder for fatally shooting Savannah Ryan Williams, a 38-year-old transgender woman, in 2023. According to the LA Times, Williams was waiting in a bus shelter when Bible passed by. She approached him, and the two walked to a nearby courtyard. After engaging in sexual activity, Bible later shot her in the head at close range. And in Queens, prosecutors in late 2024 secured up to 29 years-to-life for Rasheen Everett, convicted of strangling a 29-year-old Black transgender woman in 2010, a press release revealed.
Activists emphasize that Black trans women are especially at risk, and say these statistics and cases reflect a persistent epidemic of violence against transgender women.
Do you think the justice system takes violence against trans women seriously enough? Comment below!
