By Shayna Jacobs and Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
EAST HARLEM — A 32-year-old man was charged with raping a 73-year-old grandmother who was walking on a jogging path on FDR Drive in East Harlem earlier this month.
Kentrel Whitaker, 32, approached the "petite grandmother on her morning walk" from behind about 6:40 a.m. on Sept. 15, at the FDR Drive and 111th Street, Assistant District Attorney Rachana Pathak said.
He pushed her to the ground and beat her, before removing her shorts and underwear and sexually assaulted her, the prosecutor said. Semen matching Whitaker's DNA was found in the victim's underwear.
The alleged attacker fled when he saw a male jogger approaching, according to the ADA.
The victim was brought to the hospital and had to get seven stitches above her eye, and also suffered bruising to her chin, her back and anal area, prosecutors said.
Whitaker was arrested just after 5 p.m. on East 105th Street Tuesday night, according to police.
The alleged attacker, who has been convicted of felonies before, faces five to 15 years on the rape charge.
His lawyer said that Whitaker denied the charges. He will appear in court again on Monday.
