BROOKLYN — A Brooklyn man was convicted Wednesday of holding his ex-girlfriend hostage, raping and torturing her.
Alex Anselmo, 31, of Clinton Hill, held his former lover captive for three days, handcuffing her and beating her with a dumbbell, officials said — all while their 2-year-old daughter was in the next room.
The 31-year-old victim broke up with Anselmo in the spring of 2012, after which he became increasingly obsessive, the court was told.
He violated an order of protection taken against him that year after learning on Facebook that she met another man and was planning to move to Florida.
On April 1, 2013, he forced his way into his ex’s Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment, punched her, handcuffed her to the bed and left her there for three days, officials said.
Anselmo raped and sodomized the victim up to four times a day, according to court documents, severed a tendon on her foot using a knife and beat her with a dumbbell and extension cord.
She suffered 50 wounds on her body and feet, officials said. Anselmo also threatened to shoot her with a gun, stuffed a sock in her mouth, and cut off her hair.
Police arrived on April 3 after a neighbor listened through the door of the home and heard the cocking of a gun. Upon breaking down the door, officers found the victim tied to the bed in a dress she was forced to wear, according to the DA’s office.
During the course of the crimes, their 2-year-old was in the living room and not given adequate food, court documents showed.
Anselmo took a photo of his ex’s stab wound on his cellphone, according to trial evidence, and officials said he searched online to find information on sterilizing a woman and how many Xanax pills it would take to cause a death.
He was convicted on 17 charges Wednesday, including first-degree kidnapping, first-degree rape, first-degree burglary and second-degree assault.
“This defendant is a monster,” Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said in a statement.
“He mercilessly tortured a defenseless woman and would have probably killed her if he wasn’t stopped.”
Anselmo faces up to 50 years to life in prison when sentenced on Oct. 1, officials said.
Information for Anselmo's lawyer was not immediately available.
