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In what is becoming an all-too-common headline,  the man arrested for the rape of a 15-year-old girl in New York turned out to be an illegal migrant.

Sakir Akkan, a 21-year-old Turkish immigrant, was arrested and charged with first-degree rape over the attack that occurred in May in upstate New York.

Akkan was reportedly arrested seven months ago by U.S. Border Patrol agents in San Diego after illegally crossing the southern border into the U.S. He ended up in the capital region of New York where he forced the minor into his car, according to the Albany Times-Union which noted that police did not immediately notify the public of the incident.

“Albany police officials declined to notify the public last month after a 15-year-old girl who had run away from a group home was allegedly forced into the vehicle of a 21-year-old man near Albany Medical Center before he drove her to an isolated area in the city’s South End and raped her,” the outlet reported.

“The incident began after midnight on May 14 when the teenage girl left a residential group home off New Scotland Avenue without authorization. She told police that Akkan, whom she was later able to identify from a photo lineup, drove up to her in a green Toyota Prius, got out and was clutching a metal rod as he threatened to beat her if she didn’t get in his vehicle,” the Albany Times-Union report continued.

She reportedly ran for help after the attack when the suspect thankfully let her go. She has scratches on her legs where she had tried to resist Akkan, according to police records.

The illegal migrant had a New Jersey driver’s license and the car he was driving reportedly had New Jersey license plates though that were registered to another car of the same model.

“It was determined that there was no immediate threat to public safety during that time. Had there been a perceived threat to the public, appropriate information would have been released,” Officer Megan Craft, a spokeswoman for the Albany Police Department, said of the 30-day interval between the attack and the arrest.

“The Albany police were not aware of the defendant’s immigration status until your inquiry (on Monday),” Craft said. “With that being said, his immigration status had no impact whatsoever on our decision regarding a news release.”

Akkan has pleaded not guilty to the rape charge.

The disturbing incident comes on the heels of several other violent attacks on women and young girls across the nation committed by illegal migrants.

Frieda Powers
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