12 Years Later, Chelsea Rapist Will Finally Serve Time for Brutal Sex Attacks

CHELSEA, NY — A man who pleaded guilty to brutally raping two women in the same Chelsea neighborhood more than 12 years ago — then dumping one of the women, still naked, in the streets of New Jersey — has been sentenced to 25 years in New York state prison, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. announced Friday.

Elmo Rivadeneira, 32, pleaded guilty on Nov. 2 to one count of first-degree rape and one count of first-degree attempted rape.

Rivadeneira's final sentencing in NYC took more than a decade, the DA said, because Rivadeneira was first sentenced in a separate rape case in New Jersey before being extradited to New York.

The first of Rivadeneira's two attacks in Chelsea took place on Sept. 15, 2004, when he attacked a woman on West 28th Street and 9th Avenue as she was walking to work, according to court documents. He dragged the victim to a black car and tried forcing her inside of the vehicle. She tried fighting back but was punched unconscious. When she woke up, Rivadeneira and the car had disappeared, but his cell phone remained. She then reported the attack and was treated at a nearby hospital.

Investigators conducted forensic testing on the cellphone at the scene of the first attack, the DA said, to tie Rivadeneira to the crime.

In his second attack, on Oct. 31 of the same year, Rivadeneira approached a woman at West 28th Street and 10th Avenue as she departed a Halloween party. He grabbed her, showed a knife, and forced her into the backseat of a car. He drove to Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he raped her, stole her possessions, and drove away. She was left without any clothing and walked to a nearby house, where the homeowner called 911.

“With this sentencing, Elmo Rivadeneira has been held accountable for brutal attacks which struck fear into the hearts of many New Yorkers,” District Attorney Vance said in a statement. “Cold cases are not forgotten cases, as our prosecutors’ dedicated pursuit of this conviction underscores. I hope this sentence will provide some sense of closure to these brave survivors.”

Assistant District Attorney Robert Ferrari prosecuted the case.

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