Felix Rojas Gets 5 Years for Assaulting Dead Man on NYC Subway
A Manhattan judge has sentenced Felix Rojas, a 44-year-old Mexican national, to five years in prison after prosecutors said he sexually assaulted and robbed the body of a dead man on a New York City subway train.
The case stunned riders and drew national attention after the details came out last year. According to prosecutors, the victim, Jorge Gonzalez, 37, boarded the train and later lost consciousness. He died on a subway bench nearly three hours before Rojas encountered him.
Instead of getting help, prosecutors said Rojas began touching and searching the dead man’s body. Court records cited by the New York Post say he pulled down Gonzalez’s pants and raped the corpse. Prosecutors also said he searched through the victim’s pockets and belongings during the assault.
The district attorney’s office said Rojas would stop when trains pulled into stations or when other passengers entered the car. He would then sit down and act like nothing was happening. At one point, prosecutors said, he moved the victim onto the floor.
A subway employee later found Gonzalez dead and called for help. Rojas turned himself in about three weeks later after surveillance images were released to the public.
Rojas reportedly sat silently during sentencing and made no remarks. The prison term will be followed by 15 years of supervised release. After that, immigration authorities are expected to try to deport him.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Rojas entered the United States illegally multiple times dating back to 1998. ICE placed an immigration detainer on him after his arrest.
The case is one more ugly reminder of how quickly public spaces can turn into crime scenes when dangerous people slip through the cracks. It also raises the same basic question many New Yorkers keep asking: why are repeat immigration violators still ending up in the city’s criminal justice system years later?
https://x.com/nypost/status/2067382008855036351?