NYC executive used apartment to rape, torture women in 'calculated campaign of violence': prosecutors
A private equity executive used a New York City apartment as a torture chamber where he raped, punched, shackled and used a cattle prod in a series of depraved acts involving six women, Manhattan prosecutors said Thursday.
Ryan Hemphill, 43, has pleaded not guilty a 116-count indictment charging him with predatory sexual assault and other crimes dating back to last October. He faces life in prison.
To conceal his crimes, Hemphill, who is also a lawyer, threatened to have the women arrested or killed by falsely claiming to have vast resources and connections to police and organized crime, prosecutors said.
Deported 'Maryland Man' Championed By Dems Was Pulled Over Driving Car Belonging To Human Smuggler
"The details in this case are beyond disturbing — a sustained, calculated campaign of violence and cruelty that targeted vulnerable women. This kind of predatory abuse has no place in our city and will be met with the full force of the law," New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said in a statement announcing the charges.
Read On The Fox News App
Hemphill met many of the victims on dating websites like Seeking.com (formerly known as Seeking Arrangements), SugarDaddy and SugarDaddyMeet, FetLife and Craigslist, where he offered them money for sex and companionship, authorities said, adding that he sometimes paid them with counterfeit money.
Hemphill's apartment had multiple surveillance cameras, and investigators have recovered images showing dozens, if not hundreds, of other women, many of them naked and blindfolded, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Mirah Curzer told Judge Ann Scherzer during a Thursday hearing where Hemphill was present.
Investigators also found hundreds of bullets and high-capacity magazines, and a large amount of drugs, including heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, and fentanyl, prosecutors said.
Trump Admin Files First Racketeering Charges Against Massive Migrant Terrorist Group Present In Us
As Hemphill got to know the women, he allegedly convinced them to confide their past sexual traumas, which he then deliberately reenacted as he assaulted them, Curzer said.
He forced or tricked them into ingesting various drugs that rendered them unconscious or significantly impaired, prosecutors said. In addition, he also slapped and punched them repeatedly and tied them up with handcuffs and other restraints.
In one incident, one of the victims was left shackled to Hemphill's bed as she begged him to let her go.
Hemphill also used a cattle prod, an instrument meant for livestock, and a shock collar that he forced some women to wear around their necks, including while he raped them. He also allegedly tortured them psychologically by threatening them with guns and knives, urinating on them, and verbally humiliating and demeaning them.
Some victims were allegedly forced to record videos in which they stated that they consented to being raped and tortured, which Hemphill allegedly used to convince them that they wouldn't be believed if they reported him.
Scherzer ordered Hemphill to remain jailed after prosecutors raised concerns about him possibly fleeing the country, citing his wealth and connections — including a history of philanthropy and family real estate holdings.
Hemphill's alleged behavior, the judge said, "shows his extent to which he's willing to go to protect himself from facing these charges."
Fox News Digital has tried reaching out to Hemphill.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: NYC executive used apartment to rape, torture women in 'calculated campaign of violence': prosecutors
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
14 hours ago
- CNN
TX Gov Orders Arrest Of Dems Who Fled State Over Redistricting - Erin Burnett OutFront - Podcast on CNN Podcasts
TX Gov Orders Arrest Of Dems Who Fled State Over Redistricting Erin Burnett OutFront 50 mins The Texas governor has ordered the arrest of lawmakers who have fled the state to avoid a vote on a Republican redistricting map. Plus, Epstein victims speak out and accuse the DOJ of protecting wealthy men.
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
Miranda Devine: Russiagate lies are being exposed — and everybody is watching, even the Dems
Despite the best efforts of Russiagate-complicit media to dismiss as 'Russian disinformation' the latest revelations in this escalating scandal implicating Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the treasonous 'years-long coup' against President Trump, the public is paying attention and wants heads to roll. According to a Rasmussen poll released Monday, two-thirds of voters (65%) are following declassified releases over the past month by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Sen. Chuck Grassley 'very closely' (32%) or 'somewhat closely' (33%), repudiating the calculated media silence about the Obama administration's fake narratives and manipulation of intelligence to frame Donald Trump as a Kremlin stooge to cover up Hillary Clinton's wrongdoing. The poll of 1,172 likely voters, conducted July 29-31, shows 54% believe Obama administration officials committed serious crimes in 'manipulating intelligence,' with 37% saying it's 'very likely' and 17% saying it's 'somewhat likely.' A staggering 69% agree it is critical that the perpetrators be held accountable 'for the survival of our country.' Dems interested too Even more disturbing for Democrats is that it's not just Republicans who are concerned. The poll shows 56% of Democrats are following the investigation, 32% believe serious crimes were committed and 59% agree the perpetrators must be 'held accountable.' The respective Republican comparison is 75%, 83% and 86%. Hispanics are more cynical about the scandal than either black or white voters, with 66% saying serious crimes were committed and 74% wanting accountability, compared to 51% and 65% respectively for blacks, and 53% and 69% respectively for whites. Men are more concerned than women, with 74% vs. 59% following the revelations closely; 60% vs. 49% believing there is serious criminality; and 72% vs. 66% favoring accountability. It's a demonstration of the impotence of Democrat-allied media, like The New York Times, Washington Post, ABC, NBC and CBS, who showered themselves with praise and Pulitzer Prizes for their since-debunked stories about Russiagate and are hoping their audience is willing to be duped again. But like the boy who cried wolf, no one is listening anymore. According to Gabbard's office, ABC, CBS and NBC spent a total of 2,284 minutes covering Russiagate, yet they have devoted only 2 minutes and 17 seconds on the disclosures of the last couple of weeks. Even when they mention the story, it's to try to debunk it. Obama administration CIA Director John Brennan and DNI James Clapper and Hillary Clinton lawyer Marc Elias have fanned out across their favorite media outlets desperately trying to extinguish public interest. 'I am imploring, like honestly, I'm just imploring the media, do not report this as a legitimate investigation,' Elias told MSNBC. 'Do not report this as 'They are opening an investigation into John Brennan' . . . Report this as the misuse, the abuse, the authoritarian takeover of the Department of Justice. That should be the headline.' Hah! Too bad for Elias, it's no longer 2016. The public — and Donald Trump — are wiser and more determined to put heads on pikes. The renewed scrutiny of the 'Obama administration's conspiracy to subvert Trump's 2016 victory and presidency,' as Gabbard puts it, began early last month, when CIA Director John Ratcliffe released a bombshell review of the Intelligence Community Assessment, ordered by Obama on Dec. 9, 2016, that falsely claimed Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump. The review found Brennan, Clapper and then-FBI Director James Comey were 'excessively involved' in the ICA drafting, rushed its completion before Trump took office and forced the inclusion of the discredited Steele dossier, over the objections of the CIA's Russia experts, suggesting a 'potential political motive.' 'Treasonous conspiracy' That ICA was the genesis of Russiagate, casting doubt over the legitimacy of Trump's 2016 election and sabotaging his first term, with Obama the 'ringleader,' says Trump, and Democrat-allied media was crucial to its success. Every week, Post columnist Miranda Devine sits down for exclusive and candid conversations with the most influential disruptors in Washington. Subscribe here! What followed Ratcliffe's bombshell was a systematic release by Gabbard and Grassley of evidence that exposed the Obama and Biden administrations' weaponization of law enforcement and intelligence agencies against Trump. July 18: Gabbard releases a declassified report that finds that at a meeting in the Oval Office on Dec 9, 2016, Obama directed top national security officials, including Clapper, Brennan, Comey, Andrew McCabe, Susan Rice, John Kerry, Loretta Lynch and Avril Haines, to create a new intelligence assessment saying Russians meddled in the election on behalf of Trump, contradicting multiple intelligence assessments to the contrary released previously. Gabbard describes the plot as a 'treasonous conspiracy by officials at the highest levels of the Obama White House to subvert the will of the American people and try to usurp the President from fulfilling his mandate.' July 23: Gabbard holds a press conference at the White House to announce that she has sent criminal referrals to the DOJ and FBI implicating Obama and his national security team in 'seditious conspiracy.' She alleges Brennan suppressed intelligence showing Russia was not favoring Trump. She also releases a declassified House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence report that had been withheld even from the committee. It shows that in September 2016, Russia's foreign intelligence service had obtained DNC emails showing Clinton was suffering from 'intensified psycho-emotional' and physical problems. Russian spies also had a Clinton campaign email discussing a plan to tie Trump to Putin to distract Americans from Hillary's email-server scandal. July 30: Brennan and Clapper write an op-ed in The New York Times branding as 'patently false' allegations from Gabbard and Ratcliffe 'that senior officials of the Obama administration manufactured politicized intelligence, silenced intelligence professionals and engaged in a broad 'treasonous conspiracy' to undermine the presidency of Donald Trump.' Gabbard responds by releasing a whistleblower's account detailing the pressure applied to him to agree to a bogus assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump. 'I was pressured to alter my views,' the intelligence analyst-turned whistleblower claimed. Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters His boss told him in January 2017: 'There is reporting you are not allowed to see, if you saw it, you would agree . . . Isn't it possible Putin has something on Trump, to blackmail and coerce him? . . . You need to TRUST ME on this.' The whistleblower tried repeatedly to report his concerns about the fraudulent ICA to multiple government officials, including the inspector general for the intelligence community and former special counsel John Durham, but was rebuffed and ignored. 'Consequences' 'There must be consequences,' White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday. 'Because, if we have a country where we can continue to have FBI careerists and CIA careerists, deep staters, who will fabricate and doctor evidence . . . to try to go after their political enemies, up to and including the president, if we continue to create the impression and the reality that there is not a criminal, a severe criminal penalty for such conduct, it will never stop,' he said. Yes, this is not about looking in the rearview mirror or pursuing petty vendettas, as Trump critics say. It's about holding the coup-plotters accountable as a deterrent, restoring the integrity of our intelligence and law enforcement institutions and righting a historic wrong committed against the American people.
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Boston Globe
Brutal arrest of Black student in Florida shows benefits of recording police from new vantage point
Advertisement 'All the young people should be recording these interactions with law enforcement,' Crump said. Because what it tells us, just like with George Floyd, if we don't record the video, we can see what they put in the police report with George Floyd before they realized the video existed.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up McNeil was pulled over that day because officers said his headlights should have been on due to bad weather, his lawyers said. His camera shows him asking the officers what he did wrong. Seconds later, an officer smashes his window, strikes him as he sat in the driver's seat and then pulls him from the car and punches him in the head. After being knocked to the ground, McNeil was punched six more times in his right thigh, a police report states. Advertisement The incident reports don't describe the officer punching McNeil in the head. The officer, who pulled McNeil over and then struck him, described the force this way in his report: 'Physical force was applied to the suspect and he was taken to the ground.' But after McNeil posted his video online last month and it went viral, the sheriff's office launched an internal investigation, which is ongoing. A sheriff's office spokesperson declined to comment about the case this week, citing pending litigation, though no lawsuit has been filed over the arrest. McNeil said the ordeal left him traumatized, with a brain injury, a broken tooth and several stiches in his lip. His attorneys accused the sheriff's office of trying to cover up what really happened. 'On Feb. 19, 2025, Americans saw what America is,' said another of McNeil's lawyers, Harry Daniels. 'We saw injustice. You saw abuse of police power. But most importantly we saw a young man that had a temperament to control himself in the face of brutality.' The traffic stop, he said, was not only racially motivated but 'it was unlawful, and everything that stemmed from that stop was unlawful.' McNeil is hardly the first Black motorist to record video during a traffic stop that turned violent — Philando Castile's girlfriend livestreamed the bloody aftermath of his death during a 2016 traffic stop near Minneapolis. But McNeil's arrest serves as a reminder of how cellphone video can show a different version of events than what is described in police reports, his lawyers said. Christopher Mercado, who retired as a lieutenant from the New York Police Department, agreed with McNeil's legal team's suggestion that drivers should record their police interactions and that a camera mounted inside a driver's car could offer a unique point of view. Advertisement 'Use technology to your advantage,' said Mercado, an adjunct assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. 'There's nothing nefarious about it. It's actually a smart thing in my opinion.' Rod Brunson, chairman of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland, said he thinks it's a good idea for citizens to film encounters with police — as long as doing so doesn't make the situation worse. 'I think that's a form of protection — it's safeguarding them against false claims of criminal behavior or interfering with officers, etc.,' Brunson said. Although the sheriff's office declined to speak to The Associated Press this week, Sheriff T.K. Waters has spoken publicly about McNeil's arrest since video of the encounter went viral. He pushed back against some of the allegations made by McNeil's lawyers, noting that McNeil was told more than a half-dozen times to exit the vehicle. At a news conference last month, Waters also highlighted images of a knife in McNeil's car. The officer who punched him claimed in his police report that McNeil reached toward the floor of the car, where deputies later found the knife. Crump, though, said McNeil's video shows that he 'never reaches for anything,' and a second officer wrote in his report that McNeil kept his hands up as the other officer smashed the car window. A camera inside a motorist's vehicle could make up for some shortcomings of police bodycams, which can have a narrow field of view that becomes more limited the closer an officer gets to the person being filmed, Mercado said. Advertisement However, after the police murder of Floyd, some states and cities debated how and when citizens should be able to capture video of police. The Constitution guarantees the right to record police in public, but a point of contention in some states has been whether a civilian's recording might interfere with the ability of officers to do their job. In Louisiana, for example, a new law makes it a crime to approach within 25 feet (7.6 meters) of a police officer in certain situations. Waters acknowledged those limitations at a news conference last year, as he narrated video of a wild brawl between officers and a fan in the stands at EverBank Stadium during a football game last year between the universities of Georgia and Florida. The sheriff showed the officers' bodycam videos during the start of the confrontation near the top of the stadium. But when the officers subdued the suspect and were pressing against him, the bodycam footage didn't capture much, so the sheriff switched to stadium security video shot from a longer distance away. In McNeil's case, the bodycam video didn't clearly capture the punches thrown. If it had, the case would have been investigated right away, the sheriff said. For the past 20 years, Brunson has been interviewing young Black men in several U.S. cities about their encounters with law enforcement. When he first began submitting research papers for academic review, many readers didn't believe the men's stories of being brutalized by officers. 'People who live in a civil society don't expect to be treated this way by the police. For them, their police interactions are mostly pleasant, mostly cordial,' Brunson said. Advertisement 'So it's hard for people who don't have a tenuous relationship with the police to fathom that something like this happens,' he said. 'And that's where video does play a big part because people can't deny what they see.'
