Allegedly assaulted 10 women in Atlantic City, in 2012.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: An Indian American man facing trial for attacking 10 women in the Egg Harbor Township of New Jersey has rejected a plea deal offered to him by prosecutors, meaning that he now faces life in prison, if convicted, when the case goes to court at the end of the month.
Hiten A. Patel was offered a deal last week with which he could have received a mitigated sentence of 30 years in prison for allegedly sexually assaulting the women in Atlantic City during the summer of 2012. He is also set to be tried separately for two other assaults he supposedly perpetrated a year prior to those.
Patel was positively identified by all 10 of the women he assaulted. Additionally, eight of them testified to having a long-barreled silver revolver shoved in their faces during the assault; a similar gun was found on Patel when he was arrested in August of 2012.
Currently free on bail but monitored via an electronic anklet, Patel has hired a new defense attorney to argue on his behalf: James Leonard, Jr. Patel’s previous attorney voluntarily left the case due to insurmountable conflicts with his client.
For his crimes, Patel is now looking at 200 years in prison for not taking the plea deal. Patel was made aware of the severity of the sentence by New Jersey Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury before the plea deal was offered, but Patel still turned it down, hoping that he can beat all the charges and not serve any jail time at all.
That will be easier said than done. Patel has been accused of impersonating a police officer to get close to women, raping some of the women at gunpoint, and even singling out prostitutes specifically for some of the assaults. Judge DeLury has ruled just about everything admissible for the jury to consider at trial.
Jury selection will begin on January 21, with the trial itself beginning as soon as that process is over. The trial is expected to last about three weeks.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com
1 Comment
Patels I know are very hard working, honest, family oriented and law abiding citizens. Don’t understand where this lot comes from.