A transgender woman who was raped by her neighbor in the stairwell of their Manhattan apartment building in 2022 faced her attacker at his sentencing hearing on Tuesday.

In emotional testimony, Siobhan Ebert directed her wrath at the convicted rapist, Nicholas Encarnacion, before Judge Kathryn Paek sentenced him to 12 years in a New York state prison.

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According to court documents, Ebert and her attacker were neighbors in the same Lower East Side apartment building, AM New York reports.

At around 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 9, 2022, Ebert encountered Encarnacion at the building’s elevator, prosecutors said. She had just left dinner with friends and her fiancé.

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As Ebert entered the elevator, Encarnacion followed and blocked the doors from closing. Ebert testified that Encarnacion made advances that she rejected, telling him that her fiancé was waiting for her upstairs.

Encarnacion ignored the rebuff and boarded the elevator for the ride up.

That’s when he forced himself on her, kissing and feeling up her body, Ebert testified. She said she fled the elevator when the doors opened, but Encarnacion gave chase and shoved her into a stairwell. He forced her to the ground and raped her, prosecutors told the jury.

Ebert was treated for pain, bleeding, and inflammation. Encarnacion was arrested that night.

Hand on her heart, Ebert stood crying before the judge and her assailant, and shared how the attack had irrevocably changed her.

“I hate you. You ruined my life,” Ebert told Encarnacion.

Following Tuesday’s hearing, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg commended Ebert for her bravery at trial, calling her public testimony critical to “ensure accountability for this defendant.” 

“This victim’s night out ended in horror when she was brutally raped in the stairwell of her apartment building,” he said. “She continues to suffer the long-term physical and emotional consequences of this incident, and I hope that she can fully heal and recover.”

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