Turkish illegal immigrant arrested for raping 15-year-old New York girl in his car after threatening her with a metal bar

By Rachel Bowman for Dailymail.Com

00:19 June 28, 2024, updated 01:08 June 28, 2024

An undocumented Turkish migrant has been charged with the rape and kidnapping of a teenager in upstate New York.

Sakir Akkan, 21, was arrested last week for the attack on a 15-year-old girl in Albany on May 14.

The attack occurred shortly after midnight when Akkan approached the victim in a green Toyota Prius, got out and threatened her with a metal bar, according to the Times Union.

Akkan is a Turkish migrant who crossed the border illegally from San Diego seven months ago. Critics accuse police of failing to inform the public about the attack.

“To be clear, neither I nor anyone else in the police administration had any knowledge of the immigration status of the defendant in this case until he was arrested and charged,” Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins told WRGB.

“Immigration status was simply not a factor in the decision to issue the press release and any suggestion to the contrary is completely inaccurate.”

“Albany Police’s standard practice is not to release information about sexual assault in a press release to prevent further trauma to the victim unless there are other extenuating circumstances, such as when the situation poses an imminent threat to the public. Albany Police concluded that this was not the case.”

The teenager had left her dormitory near New Scotland Avenue when she was allegedly approached by Akkan.

Under threat of beating, he forced her to get into the car and drove to a remote area off South Pearl Street, police said.

Akkan allegedly pushed her into the back seat and raped her. According to police reports, she suffered scratches on her legs in self-defense.

Surveillance videos show a man, presumably Akkan, letting the girl out of the car and driving away after the sexual assault.

He was arrested a month later and is currently being held in the Albany County Jail on $25,000 cash, $50,000 surety, or $75,000 partial bond.

Akkan’s defense attorney George LaMarche told the New York Post that his client could not afford bail because an immigration warrant had been issued against him.

He was arrested in November for illegal border crossing, but was released on parole and given a court date in February 2025 in Philadelphia.

Locals have sharply criticized the police for failing to issue a statement about the attack, Akkan’s arrest and his immigration status.

“A 15-year-old girl is raped by an ILLEGAL ALIEN in the city of Albany and the public is not informed? We are supposed to believe that this was not covered up by the city government? Bullshit,” Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin said on X.

“Albany County now joins a long list of local communities where serious violent crimes are committed by people who are in our country illegally,” said Albany County Representative Frank Mauriello.

“The attempts by local authorities to hide these horrific crimes and the immigration status of the suspects from the public for weeks only make matters worse.”