A fourth man has been arrested for the brutal beating and rape of a Christian woman who was abducted outside a Queens church two weeks ago.
On July 11, a 50-year-old, born-again Christian woman told police she was confronted by five men on the street outside the Celestial Church of Christ. She said they forced her at gunpoint to walk to an abandoned lot where she was made to perform oral sex on three of the five men. The group also beat her, stripped her naked, and robbed her.
The victim, an immigrant from Liberia, also told police that she was taunted as a “stupid African.” The Celestial Church of Christ caters to African immigrants.
Several days later the New York Police Department announced the arrest of three men identified by surveillance video from local establishments.
Police said that all three men are in their 20s and that the act was a crime of opportunity. The victim did not know her attackers.
Now a fourth man has been arrested in the case.
Isaiah Shorter, 20, was arrested on Saturday and charged with forcing the victim to perform oral sex on him at gunpoint.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said the four suspects exhibited a “pack-like mentality” when they abducted and raped the 50-year-old church goer.
Previously arrested were Justin Williams, 17, Julisses Ginel, 19, and Brandon Walker, 20. Bail was set at $500,000 for each of them including the newly arrested suspect. Their next court appearance will be July 28.
Investigators say that Shorter, Williams, and Brandon forced the woman to perform oral sex on them while Ginel acted as a “look out.”
The victim says she is now frightened to travel from her home in Flatbush, Brooklyn, to the Jamaica-area church she had attended for a decade.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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