A Brooklyn man on Thursday was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for breaking into an elderly woman's apartment and sexually assaulting her.
Thomas Johnson, 54, of Brownsville, was sentenced to prison after his conviction of first-degree burglary, first-degree sexual abuse, second-degree assault as a sexually motivated felony and second-degree strangulation as a sexually motivated felony on January 20, 2026, following a jury trial, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
On September 27, 2022, at approximately 3:00am, the 81-year-old victim was asleep in her bedroom inside her Crown Heights residence when she was awakened by a loud noise. When she got out of bed, the victim observed Johnson inside her second bedroom and asked the defendant what he was doing there. The defendant grabbed her and began strangling and physically assaulting her, causing her to lose consciousness. When she regained consciousness, she realized that she no longer had underwear on, according to prosecutors.
As she attempted to crawl for help, Johnson came up behind her and put his hands around her neck and applied pressure, strangling her until she lost consciousness a second time. When the victim again regained consciousness, she was able to crawl to the front door of her apartment and call out for help. The woman’s upstairs neighbors, who are related to the defendant, came down to help and called 911. The defendant was arrested in a hallway outside the victim’s residence, Gonzalez said.
As a result of the attack, the victim suffered pain in her neck, difficulty breathing, swelling to her face, extensive hemorrhaging in her eyes, bleeding from her mouth and nose, a dislocated jaw and injuries to her genitals. The strangulations deprived her brain of oxygen for a significant period, causing brain damage that reduced the level of self-sufficiency she had prior to the attack, prosecutors said.
“This defendant broke into the home of an 81-year-old woman in the middle of the night and subjected her to a brutal, terrifying assault that left lasting injuries and stole from her the safety she deserved in her own home," Gonzalez said. "My heart is with this survivor, whose courage throughout this case has been extraordinary, and we will continue to pursue justice for anyone who targets the most vulnerable members of our communities.”
