Man accused of knifepoint NYC rape released due to technicality

A man who was arrested for the violent rape of a woman in Brooklyn last month — while his accomplice held two other women at knifepoint — has been freed on supervised release due to a technicality, according to the New York Post.

Mohammed Izzeddin, 22, who was arrested on Dec. 28 and charged by police with rape and a slew of other crimes including robbery and unlawful imprisonment, was sprung from custody earlier this week after a judge ruled that prosecutors didn’t file an indictment on time, law enforcement sources and Izzeddin’s lawyer told the Post.

Izzeddin, of Brooklyn, is accused of breaking into a business near 9th Avenue and 59th Street on Dec. 23 at around 6 p.m. and raping a 49-year-old woman, who is of Asian descent, according to local reports. 

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Mohammed Izzeddin, 22, is walked from the NYPD's 66th Precinct station house in Brooklyn New York City after being charged in the Dec. 23 rape of a 49-year-old woman. Izzeddin was freed after a judge ruled prosecutors didn’t file an indictment on time. (Gardiner Anderson for NY Daily News via Getty Images)

His alleged accomplice, Mohammed Alwi, 25, of Canarsie, has also been arrested and charged with rape and other crimes. Alwi allegedly displayed a knife to keep two other people inside the business "under control," police said, according to the New York Post. 

But Izzeddin is now free since his lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, successfully argued to a judge that the DA missed a six-day deadline to file an indictment. Under New York state law, the District Attorney’s Office must file an indictment no later than six days after someone is placed in custody. 

Furthermore, if an arrest is made before 9 a.m. on a given date, the law states that the technical arrest date is the day before.

Izzeddin was arrested on Dec. 28 at around 3 a.m. but wasn’t formally charged until around 1 p.m., so the six-day timeline clock ran out for prosecutors and the judge agreed.

"He ruled that there was a violation, so he had no choice but to release him on [his own recognizance] or supervised release," Lazzaro told the New York Post. 

Izzeddin and Alwi in a CCTV screenshot provided by the NYPD. They were both arrested and charged with rape.  (NYPD)

"So he chose supervised release. His hands are tied at that point." 

The NYPD told Fox News Digital that both Izzeddin and Alwi had also been charged with sexual abuse, forcible touching, menacing, assault and harassment.

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It is unclear why prosecutors waited so long to file the indictment. 

Izzeddin suffered an apparent drug overdose inside his 68th Street home in the early hours of Dec. 28 and EMS responded. They realized a warrant was out for his arrest and called the cops, the New York Post reported.

Izzeddin was taken to the hospital, where he remained cuffed and was then taken back to the 66th Precinct, the attorney told the publication, adding that his client "was never free to leave." 

Izzeddin was arrested on Dec. 28 at around 3 a.m. by the NYPD but wasn’t formally charged until around 1 p.m., so the six-day timeline clock ran out for prosecutors and the judge agreed. (iStock)

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Izzeddin was arraigned the next day, on Dec. 29.

The victim recounted the horrific experience to Pix11 News.

"When I opened the door, the bad guy hit me in the face very hard," the woman said via a translator app a few days after the incident. "I was afraid of hurting the other two girls, so I opened the door for him."

"I am slowly adjusting. I think I may see a psychiatrist next."

She said Izzeddin and Alwi robbed the women of about $300.