A convict busted after he texted the woman he was accused of raping to
ask her for a date was acquitted of all charges yesterday.
Timothy West, 26, embraced his lawyer, Mihea Kim, as jurors found him
not guilty in Queens Supreme Court of four counts of rape, predatory
sexual assault, burglary and robbery.
An irate Judge Richard Buchter snapped at them, “Cut that out. It’s not appropriate in the courtroom.”
The surprising verdict — which the jury reached in less than a day —
came after Pamela Arias testified in horrifying detail that West
terrorized her for more than three hours and then apologized and asked
her out.
Arias was not in the courtroom yesterday and was unaware of the verdict for several hours.
Her mother said last night, “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it.
What happened with all the proof? It’s crazy to let him walk because of
that one detail.”
The mom said the reason there was no forced entry was because she had left a window unlocked.
The not-guilty vote came despite the panel’s listening to a taped phone
conversation in which Arias accused West of raping her, and he
apologized.
Although acquitted, West wasn’t able to walk out of the courtroom a free man.
He was immediately put on a bus headed back to prison to complete a seven-year sentence for burglary in a different case.
That provides no consolation to Arias, who has been in therapy.
“She’s going to school, but it’s hard because she’s always nervous someone is following her,” the mom said.
West had been accused of breaking into Arias’ home in Ozone Park at about 1 a.m. March 20, 2009.
The gutsy waitress last week testified that West, whom she had never
seen before, entered through a kitchen window, grabbed a butcher knife
and walked up the stairs to her bedroom.
She said she didn’t scream because she feared what West would do to her brother and mother, who were sleeping down the hall.
She claimed that as her ordeal was ending, West asked her if “maybe we could still be friends.”
Arias, 21, agreed only to his request for her cellphone number in the hope that it would lead to his arrest, she testified.
Cops were with her later that day when she got a text from an unknown number that said, “call me.”
When she called, three detectives listened in.
“I’ve never seen you before, and you just walk up to my house . . . and you raped me!” said Arias, according to the recording of the call. West said he was sorry.
They arranged to meet at a doughnut shop and cops busted him there.
NyPost
