Harlem man sentenced to 17 years in jail for raping, holding captive woman he met on dating website: DA

A Manhattan man will now spend close to the next two decades in jail after prosecutors say he raped and held captive a woman he met through an online dating site.

Kenneth Washington, 36, of Harlem was sentenced Wednesday to 17 years in prison and 20 years post-release supervision after being convicted on Feb. 2 on a slew of charges.

The charges included criminal sexual act, rap, grand larceny, reckless endangerment, unlawful imprisonment, unauthorized use of a vehicle, criminal possession of stolen property, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting.

According to prosecutors, Washington and the victim met in person on Oct. 9, 2014 after starting a relationship once they met online on PlentyOfFish.com. A week later, on Oct. 15, 2014, the two met once more and went to an apartment on Walton Avenue in the Bronx.

On that same day, Washington took the victim’s rental car and came back several hours later with another woman, authorities said. Washington force the victim to perform oral sex on him and have sex with him.

Later Washington made the victim get into the car while he “drove erratically for several hours,” prosecutors said, and the other woman — described as his accomplice — held the victim in place.

Washington is said to have repeatedly threatened the victim, who in the end jumped from the moving car and then called 911.

According to authorities, three days later, Washington – who still had the victim’s rental car – was driving drunk when he struck a pedestrian and crashed into the scaffolding of a building. He then fled into a subway station where he was subsequently held by pedestrians until police arrived.

“This defendant used the Internet to prey on a woman who was searching for romance,” said Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark. “He sexually assaulted her and stole her car. This case is a warning to use caution on dating websites, where people may not be what they seem.”