Stamford man abuses 15-year-old and gives her $40

STAMFORD – According to an arrest warrant, a local man is accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in the back seat of a car in 2022.

Brayner Gregorio-Garcia, 21, was arrested by Stamford police over the weekend on charges of second-degree sexual assault, commercial sexual abuse of a minor and endangering minors.

Stamford police Officer Christopher Festa wrote in an arrest warrant that investigators first learned of the alleged sexual assault on December 8, 2023, through a report from the Department of Children and Families.

The then 16-year-old stated that she had been sexually abused by a male acquaintance in the summer of 2022 – when she was 15 years old – according to the arrest warrant.

In an interview with police, she said she messaged an acquaintance “whose name she does not know” in August 2022, asking if he could take her to a fast-food restaurant, the warrant states. The man, she told police, was a friend’s boyfriend and had driven her and friends to the restaurant several times in the past.

The 16-year-old told police that the man had agreed to drive her there, but something went wrong after the trip to dinner.

The man allegedly took her to a parking lot and “demanded the juvenile victim to get into the back seat of his vehicle,” Festa wrote in the arrest warrant.

The then 15-year-old said she was “scared” but obeyed. When she was in the back seat of the car, he sexually assaulted her, the warrant states. She told police that she resisted and “kept yelling at him to stop and tried to push him away,” but it was to no avail.

The man then opened his wallet and allegedly told her, “Here’s $40 for you and if you ever want more, let me touch you again,” Festa wrote in the arrest warrant.

Police later identified the man as Gregorio-Garcia. This identification was later confirmed when the 16-year-old chose Gregorio-Garcia from a photo lineup. She said she was “very sure” and “10/10” sure that he was her attacker.

Gregorio-Garcia later allegedly told police he had sex with the then-15-year-old, but claimed she lied about the circumstances, the warrant states. He told police the girl sent him a message asking for money to buy marijuana and e-cigarettes, and he told her he would give her money if “she agreed to have sexual intercourse with him,” Festa said in the warrant.

Gregorio-Garcia was arraigned Monday in state Supreme Court in Stamford, where a judge reduced his bail from $150,000 to $100,000. The 21-year-old was also ordered to surrender his passport, court records show.

His next court date is scheduled for August 1.