Man pleads guilty to following, raping woman in UWS apartment stairwell in 2023

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A man pleaded guilty to following a woman into her Upper West Side apartment building in 2023 and raping her in the stairwell, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr., announced Thursday.

Jamel McIver, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of rape. He is expected to be sentenced on Dec. 11.

According to court documents, at approximately 1:20 a.m. on March 4, 2023, a 21-year-old woman was returning home after a night out, when McIver followed the woman, who was a stranger, while she was walking into the elevator of her apartment building, near West 64th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

He threatened the woman and pulled her into a stairwell where he sexually assaulted and raped her, prosecutors said. He continued threatening her during the sexual assault.

McIver pulled the woman down multiple staircases and eventually outside the building, where he threatened her a final time, before letting her go. McIver then took off his jacket and sweatshirt and fled the scene.

"Today Jamel McIver was held responsible for forcing a woman into a staircase and attacking her in a horrifying act of sexual violence last year,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Every New Yorker has the right to come home safely without fear, and we will continue to hold those accountable who jeopardize the safety of fellow Manhattanites. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual violence, I urge you to please contact our Special Victims Division at 212-335-9373."