Tech exec convicted in brutal attack on hooker
Note to Sanjay Tripathy — a “date” doesn’t end with one party bloodied, strangled, sexually assaulted and held against her will.
That’s the message a Manhattan jury sent the tech executive Wednesday, finding him guilty of brutalizing a woman he met through a “sugar daddy” website in June 2016.
His accuser sat trembling in the courtroom as the 12 men and women returned their verdict of guilty on all five counts.
She testified at trial that after they arrived at his room at the posh W hotel in midtown, the married dad threatened to kill her before he punched her in the face some 20 times and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
The 38-year-old, who runs a skin care line, told jurors she and Tripathy arranged to have dinner at Zuma, and then returned to the bar at the W.
He invited her up to his room saying he had something for her, she testified, and then pounced on her.
“He said, ‘I am going to kill you. You are going to die,’” assistant district attorney Kristen Baraiola told jurors in her openings, describing how blood from the victim’s face splattered the hotel room walls and bedspread as Tripathy pummeled her.
Tripathy showed no reaction as the verdict was read. He faces up to 25 years behind bars.
The duo met on SeekingArrangments, a website which describes itself as connecting wealthy older men with “sugar babies.”
“You’ve been nothing but a gentleman while in this courtroom, but I am going to remand you,” Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Erika Edwards told Tripathy as she revoked the IT man’s $750,00 bond and ordered him immediately jailed.
Defense attorney Frank Rothman said he intends to appeal the conviction, adding “obviously I wholeheartedly disagree with the verdict.”
“I think this verdict was based on the photographs, which don’t tell the whole story of what this case is about,” Rothman said.
Jurors saw nearly a dozen horrifying photos of the woman taken at the hospital afterward, showing her swollen and bruised face, lips, and neck.
Tripathy took the stand last week to admit he’d punched her, but said it was only because she tried to extort him following a consensual sexual encounter.
He’s scheduled to return to court July 18 for sentencing.