Ex-NYC federal building guard gets 5-year sentence in charge related to sex assault of asylum seeker
NEW YORK — A former security guard at a federal building in New York City where the FBI has offices was sentenced to five years in prison Friday after pleading guilty to a charge related to the sexual abuse of an asylum seeker.
Jimmy Solano-Arias, 45, of the Bronx, was sentenced in a federal court in Manhattan by Judge Paul G. Gardephe.
Solano-Arias had pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the FBI about the sexual assault that occurred on May 4, 2023, at 26 Federal Plaza, a building across the street from the federal courthouse where the FBI also has its New York headquarters.
Prosecutors say the victim would have testified if the case had gone to trial.
According to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, Solano-Arias abused his position as an armed security officer at a federal building to sexually assault a vulnerable asylum seeker.
“By doing so, Solano-Arias abused a person he was supposed to protect, and then lied to cover up his crime,” Williams said.
Without his plea deal with prosecutors, Solano-Arias could have faced life in prison if he had been convicted of a felony count of kidnapping and aggravated sexual abuse in which he deprived himself of his rights under the guise of the law.
Solano-Arias, who said he practiced law in the Dominican Republic before coming to the U.S. and becoming a U.S. citizen, was hired by a company that provides security services at the building in Lower Manhattan, near City Hall, the city’s police headquarters and several courthouses.
According to court documents, Solano-Arias saw the victim standing in line and offered to help him with paperwork.
He eventually led the man into a locked office where he put his hand on the gun and demanded that the man perform oral sex on him, the complaint said.
Although the man initially resisted, he gave in after seeing Solano-Arias holding his firearm and fearing for his life, the complaint states.
After the attack, the man managed to take a short video of Solano-Arias on his cell phone and reported the attack to authorities, the complaint states.
Authorities said federal agents confronted Solano-Arias at work the next day and arrested him, despite his initial attempt to deny the encounter.