Accused Park Avenue area rapist now charged as a predator
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. The man accused of raping one woman and trying to rape three others in the Park Avenue neighborhood is now charged with being a predator.
Hayden Cypressi walked into court to face a grand jury indictment of first-degree rape, attempted rape, sexual abuse and predatory sexual assault.
“I have a copy [of the indictment here] here and enter a plea of not guilty to each of the counts,” defense lawyer Matthew Lembke told Monroe County Court Judge Meredith Vacca.
“Berkeley, the first thing I would say is that everyone who knows Hayden, his parents, siblings, his close friends, his family, are shocked,” Lembke told me outside court. “So we’re going to find out what happened and if something happened, why? We’ll find out whether the charges here are accurate or whether there are charges that are bogus.”
So far, the charges allege four women have come forward saying Cypressi raped or tried to rape them. The charges say almost all of the attacks happened in the Park Avenue neighborhood between May and October of this year and the prosecutor says the victims and Cypressi did not know each other.
The man accused of raping one woman and trying to rape three others in the Park Avenue neighborhood is now charged with being a predator.
The predator charge makes this an A-felony case, the most serious, with the potential of life in prison.
“But what does predatory mean? What does that tell our community that he was attempting to do allegedly?” I asked the prosecutor.
“Ultimately it tells the community that this individual is an actual predator,” Assistant District Attorney Constance Patterson said. “This person was going after individuals, women specifically in the Park Avenue area and, in our opinion, obviously going after them and being a predator against them.”
Cypressi pleaded not guilty to every charge. His trial is scheduled for July.
“We want all members of our community to be safe no matter if it’s 10 o’clock in the morning or four o’clock in the morning,” Patterson said. “It doesn’t matter. People should be able to walk outside and know that they’re safe and all predators should be off the street.”