Illegal alien accused of kidnapping, raping 15-year-old girl. Albany officials accused of keeping crime quiet.

Accusations of a cover-up have surfaced after an illegal alien allegedly kidnapped and raped a 15-year-old girl in upstate New York and was allowed to wander about freely for more than a month before he was arrested by police, who did not notify the public that a violent rapist had been taken off their streets.

The horrific incident occurred shortly after midnight on May 14. A 15-year-old girl had run away from a group home in Albany, New York, and was walking along New Scotland Avenue when a man in a Toyota Prius pulled over and forced the girl into the car, brandishing a metal pipe and threatening to brutalize her with it if she refused to cooperate.

'If an asylum-seeker snatching a kid (off a public street) and raping them and remaining on the loose is not a threat to public safety, then what is a threat to public safety?'

Once the girl was in the passenger seat, the car drove away and parked in an isolated area near South Pearl Street. The driver of the vehicle then forced the girl into the backseat, removed her clothes, and forcibly raped her. Scratches on the girl's legs, noted in the police report, indicated that the girl had fought back against the vicious assault.

The man then let the girl go, and she ran to a nearby residence for help. The girl gave consistent statements to police during at least two different interviews, both of which occurred weeks apart, and surveillance footage appeared to corroborate at least some of the girl's story, the Albany Times Union reported.

The girl was also able to pick her attacker out of a photo line-up, pointing to Sakir Akkan, a 21-year-old Turkish national who illegally entered the U.S. in San Diego late last November. At the time, he was arrested by Border Patrol and charged with "alien removal," but he was later released into the U.S., reportedly because of lack of bed space, and ordered to appear at an immigration hearing in February 2025. He has since attempted to be granted asylum.

Exactly when Akkan was first identified as a possible suspect in the rape of the 15-year-old New York girl is unclear. However, he was not arrested until June 18, more than a month later. Even then, Albany police did not announce the arrest to the public as they have about the arrests of other violent alleged rapists, including one who was arrested earlier this month.

When news outlets pressed about the department's apparent lack of communication, Officer Megan Craft, a spokeswoman for the Albany Police Department, indicated that police didn't see any need to spread the news widely.

"It was determined that there was no immediate threat to public safety during that time," Craft said. "Had there been a perceived threat to the public, appropriate information would have been released."

Craft also indicated that, so long as alleged sexual assaults "do not pose a threat to the public," the department has a "general" policy not to issue press releases about rape arrests "to prevent retraumatization of the victim."

However, someone familiar with the investigation who spoke with the Times Union on condition of anonymity countered: "If an asylum-seeker snatching a kid (off a public street) and raping them and remaining on the loose is not a threat to public safety, then what is a threat to public safety?"

Craft also made references to "inconsistencies" in the investigation into the rape, though the Times Union could not find any inconsistencies in the police reports or the available evidence. The outlet also expressed confusion about why such alleged inconsistences would have "had any bearing on the department’s decision not to notify the public about the abduction and sexual assault."

Albany County legislator Steve McLaughlin was likewise dumbfounded by the apparent secrecy surrounding the rape. "We are suppose [sic] to believe this wasn't covered up by the city administration?" he posted to his personal X account. "Bulls**t. This is a national story. What the hell went on here?"

Republicans in the state Senate likewise claimed the secrecy was "disgraceful" and accused city leadership of showing "a shocking lack of concern for New Yorker's [sic] safety."

Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins slammed the accusations and claimed the department had been "grossly mischaracterized" regarding this investigation. He also insisted that Akkan's immigration status "was simply not a factor in the media release decision."

A spokesperson for Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan denied any knowledge of the rape or the immigration status of the suspect. "We were not aware of the individual’s immigration status prior to your inquiry," the spokesperson told the Times Union.

WRGB rose to the defense of "police and Democratic lawmakers in Albany," claiming that allegations of a cover-up have been made "without evidence."

Akkan remains in custody at the Albany County Correctional Facility on a charge of first-degree rape. ICE issued an immigration detainer against him two days after his arrest.

The New York Post reported that illegal immigrants from Turkey have been known to cross the southern border in the San Diego area. According to the outlet, approximately 15,000 Turkish natives were apprehended by Border Patrol in that region in both 2022 and 2023.

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