The charming, sophisticated personality of the Upper West Side rapist

This is from DNAinfo.com, reported August 3:

[Hugues-Denver] Akassy was also charged with assault with a deadly weapon in D.C. in 1995. Defense attorney Elita Amato represented Akassy in that case, which she remembered involved a scuffle at the Senegalese embassy in Washington. The case was dismissed a few weeks after Akassy’s arrest.

People in the D.C. area, including his former lawyer Amato, said the Akassy they knew was a friendly, well-liked man.

“He’s charming, he has class, he dresses well, he speaks well. He seemed to be a normal person,” Amato said. “It didn’t seem like there was a pattern of agressive behavior.”

Amato remembered Akassy as a well-educated journalist who spoke with a heavy French accent and came to the U.S. to work on political stories. She said she once attended a party at his apartment.

Akassy lived in one of Washington, D.C.’s most exclusive neighborhoods, Kalorama, an enclave of multi-million dollar houses and embassies that was once home to the late U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy.

Akassy rented an apartment in the neighborhood several years ago, said David Akers, a tenant in the building where Akassy once lived.

Akers said Akassy made a positive impression during chats in the elevator, and desribed him as well-dressed and personable.

“He was good-looking and presented himself with a certain charisma and charm,” Akers recalled.

- end of initial entry -

Alan A. writes:

Africanoutlookonline.com reports:

Authorities say alleged Riverside Park rapist Hugues-Denver Akassy made a habit of targeting women who live in the West 70s, blocks known more for brownstones and sidewalk cafes than violent attacks.

Since then, women including a prosecutor and a dating columnist have come forward to say Akassy molested or harassed them.

Including a prosecutor! Amazing. I guess the dating columist can chalk it up to “research” (the dummy).

LA replies:

And his victim in the trial this week is an art researcher at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. So he has a knack for scoping out women from the elite precincts of liberal society. Perhaps he knows they will be the most receptive to, and naïve about, his advances.

- end of initial entry -

David B. writes:

The Upper West Side rapist’s tactic was to approach attractive white women and make them think he was the Sidney Poitier character in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” He was successful, again and again.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at October 25, 2011 02:38 PM | Send