A Brooklyn man on Wednesday was sentenced to prison for raping a 12-year-old after following her into the lobby of her East Williamsburg apartment building, dragging her into a stairwell, and raping her.
Eric McMichael, 28, of Greenpoint, was sentenced to 18 years in prison, after pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child on May 13, 2026.
McMichael, who was residing at a men’s shelter near the victim’s building at the time of the attack on November 6, 2025, followed a 12-year-old girl into the lobby of an apartment building in East Williamsburg and grabbed her. The defendant pushed the child into a nearby stairwell and raped her before fleeing the scene, according to prosecutors.
The child, who was a stranger to McMichael, was taken to a local hospital for treatment following the attack. The defendant was identified following an investigation and apprehended by the NYPD the next day, prosecutors said.
“This defendant followed and victimized a vulnerable child, shattering her sense of safety," Gonzalez said in a statement. "Today’s sentence and the defendant’s guilty plea ensures that justice is done, protects the young victim from the trauma of testifying at trial, and ensures the defendant is kept off the streets of Brooklyn and unable to harm others.”
