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Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino, Jr. announced on Tuesday that 38-year-old Akhim Blount, who is homeless, has been sentenced after pleading guilty to a 13-count indictment stemming back to several incidents in 2015. He had been living in a homeless shelter in Valhalla.
According to Scarpino, at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2015, Blount approached his 57-year-old female victim on Belmont Avenue in Yonkers, grabbed her by the neck and throat, obscuring her breathing and forced her into a nearby yard, where he threw her on the ground.
Blount repeatedly threatened his victim with a knife, telling her he would “cut her head off,” then allegedly demanded that she take off her pants and underwear before he raped her, Scarpino said. When she attempted to scream for help, Blount covered her mouth and nose with his hand to prevent her from breathing, according to Scarpino.
Scarpino said the victim was then dragged further into the yard, toward a wooded area, where Blount anally and orally raped her, before demanding she hand over her money and personal property. Blount then told the victim he would shoot her if she moved, fleeing the scene with her money, Scarpino said.
Two days later, Blount approached a 37-year-old woman getting out of her car at an apartment complex on Bronx River Road in Yonkers, demanding she get back in the car, while displaying what appeared to be a handgun, Scarpino said.
The second victim attempted to hand Blount her wallet and cell phone when he shoved her in the front seat and grabbed her pants in an effort to remove them, according to Scarpino. The woman struggled with Blount as he “forcibly groped her genitalia,” before she was able to break free and called police from a passerby’s phone, the DA said.
At approximately 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 23, a 22-year-old woman was sitting in her car at the Cross County Shopping Center when Blount allegedly jumped into her front seat, grabbing her by the head and arm and pulling her toward him, according to the DA. Blount told her not to move, threatening to cut her with a knife if she did, Scarpino added.
The third victim struggled and managed to run from the car to a nearby stranger, who offered her assistance, according to the DA. Scarpino stated that Blount grabbed the victim’s purse and a pair of recently purchased sneakers from the car. He would be arrested later that day, and an “intensive investigation,” including DNA evidence resulted in Blount being connected to the previous incidents.
Blount pleaded guilty to three counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of first-degree rape, two counts of criminal sexual act, two counts of sexual abuse, two counts of first-degree robbery, one count of second-degree robbery and two counts of third-degree robbery, all felonies.
Additionally, Blount must re-register as a sex offender under the New York State Sex Offender’s Registry Act - more commonly known as Meghan’s Law - upon completion of his sentence.
Blount has been remanded into the custody of the New York State Department of Corrections.
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