Henrietta, N.Y. --- An indictment unsealed in Monroe County Court Tuesday morning accused Taha Alashwal, 34, of sex crimes related to the rape of a 14 year-old boy.
Alashwal faces one charge each of Criminal Sexual Act 1st Degree and 2nd Degree.
The crimes reportedly occurred at a Henrietta hotel on June 20th and the victim told police that he was forcibly raped after spending about twenty minutes in a hotel room jacuzzi with Alashwal.
The victim told police investigators that during one of the alleged acts he “saw a pen on the bed side table and I reached for it and then pulled the cap off of the pen and then stabbed him in the back of the neck.”
Court records show that Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Deputies investigating the crime inspected the back of Alashwal’s neck and observed “a small round hole that appeared to have blood in it…it seemed to be consistent with what (victim) reported.”
The victim then describes fleeing the room and running towards the hotel lobby where he alerted employees who called police. While waiting in that lobby the boy states he had another encounter with Alashwal and that he, “told me he would pay me $5,000 if I didn’t say anything. He said think about (it) and I didn’t reply.”
Authoriteis and Alashwal's lawyer described him as the owner of a Rochester area restaurant called Mojo’s on Genesee Street. (Note: Public records list the restaurant as being in someone else's name, he is the owner of a restaurant in the Syracuse area.)
The victim tells police that Alashwal hired him to go door-to-door handing out menus and that he later moved up to dishwashing and breading chicken wings.
Assistant District Attorney Kyle Rossi tells 13WHAM News that the evidence suggests that Alashwal offered this boy gifts, a job, and privileges that he would not have otherwise had access to.
