Defendants Sentenced to Eighteen Years in Prison for Participation in Rape and Sexual Assault of Trafficking Victim, While Crime Was Video Recorded

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler that on Thursday, April 30, 2019 announced, that Franeisha Patterson, age 25, of Newburgh and Cally Graham, age 20, of the Bronx, were each sentenced by Orange county Court Judge Craig Stephen Brown to a total of eighteen years in state prison in connection with the December 12, 2017, forcible rape and sexual assault of a teenage girl in a Newburgh apartment. On January 25, 2019, Patterson and Graham were both convicted by a jury of Rape in the First Degree and Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree. In addition, Patterson was convicted of one count of Use of a Child in a Sexual Performance.

Patterson was sentenced to eighteen years in state prison, and five years post-release supervision, on each of her convictions for Rape in the First Degree and Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree. Patterson was sentenced to seven and one-half to fifteen years in state prison for her conviction for Use of a Child in a Sexual Performance. The court ordered that all those sentences be served concurrently.

Graham was also sentenced to eighteen years in state prison, and five years post-release supervision, on each of his convictions for Rape in the First Degree and Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, as well as one to three years in state prison for Bail Jumping in the Second Degree. The court ordered that those sentences run concurrently with each other, but consecutively to a twelve-year sentence he is currently serving on a weapons possession charge.

Two other participants in the crime, Franiqua Patterson and Daniel Wapples, previously pled guilty to felonies in connection with the crime. Franiqua Patterson pled guilty to two counts of Sex Trafficking with respect to the victim of the rape and another victim. Wapples pled guilty to Rape in the First Degree. Franiqua Patterson was sentenced to twelve years in state prison and five years post release supervision for each count of Sex Trafficking. The court ordered that both sentences are served concurrently. Wapples was sentenced to ten years in state prison and twenty years post release supervision following his guilty plea to Rape in the First Degree.

The rape victim was, at the time, a fifteen-year-old runaway who had been sex trafficked by Franiqua Patterson for approximately one month before the rape occurred. On December 12, 2017, the victim went to Franeisha Patterson’s apartment in the City of Newburgh, where all four defendants were present. Franeisha Patterson ordered the victim to have sex with her boyfriend, Graham. Similarly, Franiqua Patterson ordered the victim to have sex with her boyfriend, Wapples. Both women repeatedly made those demands, despite the victim’s refusal to comply. Wapples forcibly raped the victim, while Graham forcibly orally sodomized her. Franiqua and Franeisha watched the crime from a nearby couch, while Franiqua recorded the crime on her cellphone. The victim cried during the incident, and the four defendants repeatedly yelled at her, laughed at her, and cursed at her.

District Attorney Hoovler thanked the City of Newburgh Police Department for their efforts in the investigation and prosecution of the case.

“Sex trafficking victims deserve our support in putting their lives back together and these lengthy prison sentences were warranted by the horrendous actions these defendants took against a vulnerable teenager,” said District Attorney Hoovler, “Forcible rape and sexual assault are despicable crimes, under any circumstances but to participate in crimes like that, while they’re being committed against a trafficked teenager, and while they’re being recorded sinks to another level of depravity. My office will continue to make every possible effort to prosecute those who commit sex crimes.”

District Attorney Hoovler highly commended Senior Assistant District Attorney Maryellen Albanese and Assistant District Attorney Alexis Gregory for their prosecution of the case.

A criminal charge is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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