Federal prosecutors file updated charges after FIT student’s fentanyl death
Prosecutors allege Moises Freire gave two students fentanyl while saying it was cocaine and raped one as she overdosed. The updated charges had not yet been arraigned on Friday.
Federal prosecutors filed updated charges on Thursday, October 15, in a case involving two Fashion Institute of Technology students who overdosed in a Manhattan residence hall in March. One died, and the new charges allege that Moises Freire raped her while she was unconscious. The other student survived, according to NBC News and the Guardian.
What prosecutors allege happened in the FIT residence hall
Prosecutors allege that Freire brought fentanyl to the students’ dorm room on March 18 and told them it was cocaine. Both women lost consciousness after taking it, according to the indictment as reported by NBC News. The woman Freire is accused of raping went into a coma and died on March 21, the Guardian reported.
NBC News reported that the indictment alleges Freire knew the substance contained fentanyl and had previously described it as ‘fake’ and ‘poison’. Prosecutors say he encouraged both students to take it. The women have not been named in the charging documents, according to the Guardian.
Charges against Freire and Peralta Cabrera
Freire, 19, of the Bronx, faces charges including distribution of a controlled substance with intent to commit rape and distribution of narcotics resulting in death, NBC News reported. Brian Peralta Cabrera, 18, of Queens, was charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death and serious bodily injury. Prosecutors allege Freire obtained the fentanyl from Peralta Cabrera.
Both men pleaded not guilty to earlier charges. As of Friday, neither had been arraigned on the updated charges, and both remained in federal custody, the Guardian reported. Their pleas to the earlier charges do not resolve the new allegations.
A third defendant and the next court date
The Guardian reported that a prosecutor described a longer supply chain at an April hearing: Harry Rosales Pino allegedly sold the fentanyl to Peralta Cabrera, who passed it to Freire. Rosales pleaded guilty on September 16 to plotting to distribute narcotics resulting in death and serious bodily injury, the newspaper reported. His sentencing was tentatively scheduled for December 15.
NBC News said FIT had not returned its request for comment on the case. The Guardian also reported that the college had not immediately responded to a request for comment on Friday.
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Sources and context
- New York City college student dead after being drugged and raped in her dorm room, prosecutors sayNBC News
- New York man charged with rape and lethal fentanyl dosing of college studentThe Guardian (Ramon Antonio Vargas; also credits Associated Press reporting)
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.