TROY, NY – In a harrowing case that has shocked the local community, a 21-year-old Turkish man is accused of raping a 15-year-old girl in New York after threatening her with a pipe. Sakir Akkan allegedly forced the teenager into his vehicle on May 14 and committed the assault, according to authorities.
Akkan managed to avoid capture for over a month before being detained on June 18. He was initially arrested by Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-Mexico border in California in November 2023 but was released into the interior of the country. He later obtained a New Jersey driver’s license and settled in Troy, New York.
An incident report details that Akkan used a pipe to intimidate the girl into his green Toyota Prius, where he then removed her clothing and raped her despite her resistance. Akkan is currently held without bail in an Albany jail and is expected to appear in court on Thursday.
Records indicate that Akkan had a prior run-in with law enforcement, having been stopped for a traffic violation in another area just 12 days before his eventual arrest. He has entered a not guilty plea to the charge of first-degree rape.
This incident is part of a broader pattern of violent crimes involving illegal immigrants. In Houston, two individuals have been charged with the abduction and murder of a 12-year-old girl. Another case in New York City involves a man accused of attacking two 13-year-old girls, tying them together, and raping one. Furthermore, Missouri police arrested five illegal immigrants who were found with a missing 14-year-old girl from Indiana in their vehicle.
The rising number of such cases has sparked debate over border security policies. Former New York Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey recently wrote an op-ed condemning the increase in violence against women by migrants, calling it a “femicide” epidemic.