Manhattan Lawyer Charged With Sexual Attacks on Women
Ra'Shaun Kelley allegedly followed one woman into her building and then an elevator where he pressed himself against her, tried to forcibly kiss her and began to touch her all over her body, states the complaint.
January 07, 2019 at 04:31 PM
4 minute read
A Manhattan lawyer specializing in securities and commercial matters has been charged with committing a series of sexual attacks on New York City women that allegedly happened after he followed them into their apartment buildings and, in one instance, into a residential elevator.
Ra'Shaun Kelley—who has a Park Avenue office and whose Avvo online biography says he formerly worked in the general counsel, compliance and legal departments of J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse—allegedly pushed one victim into the lobby of her building, put his hand over her mouth, put his other hand down the front of her pants and tried to touch her private area before pulling down her leggings, according to a criminal complaint.
In a separate instance described by another unnamed informant in the complaint, Kelley allegedly followed the woman into her building and then an elevator, where he pressed himself against her, tried to forcibly kiss her and began to touch her all over her body, the complaint provided by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office stated.
Kelley, 35—who it appears either practices solo or as the head of a small firm called Kelley & Associates—was arraigned over the weekend on three counts of first-degree sexual abuse and three counts of burglary in the second degree as a sexually motivated felony, according to the complaint and D.A.'s Office spokeswoman Emily Tuttle. His bail was set at $200,000 cash or bond, Tuttle said.
Kelley, through an attorney, has denied the allegations.
His alleged sex-attack spree occurred between Dec. 16, 2014, and Jan. 14, 2015, according to the complaint. But he is a suspect in two other, similar sexual assaults, according to news reports citing police sources. Those alleged incidents took place around the time of the same alleged monthlong spree, it has been reported.
According to a Daily News report, none of the women attacked were seriously injured.
The complaint and news reports made clear that the Manhattan Special Victims Squad built a case against him, in part by using DNA obtained from headphones Kelley allegedly left behind at an attack and from a fork taken by investigators from his garbage.
Reportedly, Kelley is a resident and native of Brooklyn and a graduate of Canarsie High School.
Investigators also used video surveillance footage, tips and witness statements to the attacks, reports say.
The lawyer who represented him at the arraignment, Christopher Carrion, issued a statement Monday: “The prosecution's case is circumstantial and full of holes—from grainy surveillance footage to ambiguous identifications to an overzealous detective seeking to make a career on smearing the reputation of a fine lawyer. There is no evidence whatsoever that my client committed any crimes and we look forward to fighting these charges and clearing his name.”
According to his Avvo biography, Kelley advises companies and individuals on business, corporate and securities law. It also states that he is an “aggressive litigator” in commercial and securities cases who has a “track record of success defending corporate officers, investment advisers, securities professionals and broker-dealers under investigation” internally or by federal agencies.
He also represents individual investors in FINRA arbitration alleging claims of fraud, unauthorized trading and unsuitable investments against their broker-dealers, the biography says.
He graduated from New York Law School, where he was a John Harlan Marshall Scholar, an editor on the New York Law School Law Review, associate with the Securities Arbitration Clinic, a member of the Dispute Resolution Team and a competitor in several negotiation and moot court competitions, the biography further states. According to reports, he passed the New York bar in 2014.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllManhattan Prosecutors Say They Will Oppose Efforts by Trump Legal Team to Dismiss Case
Trump's SEC Likely to Halt 'Off-Channel' Texting Probe That's Led to Billions in Fines
White & Case Settles Wrongful Conviction Lawsuit With City Agreeing to Pay $9.45 Million
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250