By Jonathan Burgos –
District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., of Manhattan New York announced the indictment of DANIEL JEAN, 38; KIRT ACALA, 38; and EDWARD CHOU, 40; for allegedly kidnapping an incapacitated colleague in June 2023 by dragging her body from the loading dock of a post office into the back of a parked postal truck, where JEAN allegedly attempted to rape her. All suspects are charged with kidnapping in the second degree and kidnapping in the second degree as a Sexually Motivated Felony in a New York State Supreme Court. Jean also is charged with Attempted Rape in the First Degree, Attempted Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, and Forcible Touching.
On June 8, 2023, according to court documents and statements, the coworker attended an after-work birthday celebration for a friend at at the East venue post office where she worked with the defendants. Later in the evening, she felt strange, could not control her body, and eventually lost consciousness.
Inside the post office, JEAN slapped and squeezed the victim’s buttocks while she was unable to stand or fully hold her head up. The defendants then dragged her out of the post office and into the back of the truck. Inside the truck, JEAN allegedly attempted to rape her.
Officers responded to a 911 call and found both suspects sitting in the front seats of the truck, where they initially refused to open the back trunk with his pants unzipped. The victim was found in the back of the truck with her pants undone.
D.A.’s Office and the NYPD, in collaboration with the USPS Inspector General’s Office, opened an investigation that led to today’s arrests.
D.A. Bragg thanked the Northeast Area Field Office, USPS Office of Inspector General, and NYPD Detective Marvin Pinnock of the Manhattan Special Victims Squad.