Three New York City postal workers have been charged with the sexually motivated kidnapping of a coworker, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. Daniel Jean, 38, Kirt Alcala, 38, and Edward Chou, 40, stand accused of moving an incapacitated woman from the loading dock to the back of a postal truck, where Jean allegedly tried to sexually assault her. The Manhattan D.A.'s office detailed the charges in an announcement on their website. The charges include Kidnapping in the Second Degree and Kidnapping in the Second Degree as a Sexually Motivated Felony against all three individuals, with Jean facing additional charges of Attempted Rape in the First Degree, amongst others.
Details presented by the D.A.'s office recount an incident that allegedly occurred on June 8, 2023. The victim was at a birthday celebration at her workplace on East 11th and 4th Avenue, later finding herself unable to control her movements and, ultimately, losing consciousness. It is during this compromised state that Jean is said to have assaulted her and, with the assistance of his co-defendants, transported her to the postal truck. “As alleged in this indictment, these three postal workers dragged their incapacitated colleague out of a post office and into a mail truck, where one attempted to rape her,” D.A. Bragg stated.
This troubling case was unearthed through a coordinated investigation led by the Manhattan D.A.’s Office and the NYPD, with the USPS Inspector General’s Office also playing a crucial role. NYPD officers had responded to a 911 call and found Alcala and Chou in the front seats of the truck. The victim's calls for help could be heard from the back of the vehicle, and upon the officers' insistence, Jean eventually emerged from the back with his pants unzipped, revealing the victim inside with her own pants undone.
Assistants to the District Attorney, Mirah Curzer, and Samatha Levitz, are handling the prosecution of the case. D.A. Bragg also extended gratitude towards the Northeast Area Field Office of the USPS Office of Inspector General, and NYPD Detective Marvin Pinnock of the Manhattan Special Victims Squad for their significant contributions to the investigation.
