Far Rockaway Rapist Convicted for Brutal 2009 Assaults

By David Brand

A Far Rockaway man was convicted in Queens Criminal Court on Thursday for the brutal rapes of a woman and her boyfriend in 2009.

Raymond Gillespie, 45, was found guilty of a series of raping his ex-girlfriend in March 2009. In September 2009, Gillespie and a group of accomplices broke into the woman’s Rosedale home, tied the woman and her new boyfriend up and raped them, according to trial testimony. Prosecutors said Gillespie used a pipe to anally rape the man.

He carried a gun and spoke in a Jamaican accent to mask his identity, prosecutors said.

“The victims suffered extensively at the hands of the defendant. After tying up the sleeping pair, the defendant then repeatedly sexually assaulted his ex and beat and burned her new boyfriend,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. “After carefully weighing the evidence presented at trial, a jury rendered a verdict of guilty. The verdict signifies the culmination of a lengthy quest for justice for these two victims.”

Gillespie was found guilty of first-degree rape, first-degree burglary, aggravated attempted sex abuse and first-degree criminal sex act.

He faces up to 50 years in prison and will appear before Queens Supreme Court Justice Barry Schwartz for sentencing on Nov. 13.

Gillespie’s co-defendant Lamont Gough is serving 20 years in prison after he was convicted at a separate trial.