'Window rapist' gets 50 years

by The Jersey Journal
Saturday November 01, 2008, 5:01 AM



An East Orange felon felt a judge's wrath yesterday when he was sentenced to 50 years in prison for raping a Downtown Jersey City woman in 2005 after climbing through her window in a luxury apartment building, officials said.

"Justice was served in this very disturbing stranger-on-stranger crime," said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio of the sentence handed down to Michael McKane, 34, by Superior Court Judge Fred Theemling yesterday.

In June a jury convicted McKane on three counts of aggravated sexual assault, three counts of sexual assault and one count each of robbery and burglary, said Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Najma Rana, who prosecuted the case.

An average sentence for the crime would be 10 to 20 years, but as a persistent offender McKane was eligible for an extended sentence. He will have to serve more than 42 years of the sentence, or until the age of 79, before even becoming eligible for parole.

Read all about it in today's edition of The Jersey Journal.

I'm a little disgusted with the fact that he was not immediately identified, since they had the DNA and it was on file. But at least the police investigated one crime here.

How many other people did he rape between Dec 17 2005 and Apr 7 2006? Was he let out in May 2007 to rape even more until this trial?

Realistically, he's going to have a jolly time raping people in prison for 15 years, get out, and rape and kill someone else.

Perhaps it was a previous prison stay that gave him his taste for rape. In typical JJ fashion, they didn't bother to do any research and give minimal background on the guy.

This is great news and hopefully can bring some closure for the victim.

DNA helps nail 'window' rapist

Saturday, June 21, 2008
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

An East Orange felon faces up to life in prison after DNA evidence led to his conviction yesterday on charges of climbing through the window of a Downtown Jersey City woman and raping her in 2005, officials said.

The jury deliberated for a few hours before returning a guilty verdict at about 3 p.m. in the trial of Mike McKane, 37, on three counts of aggravated sexual assault, three counts of sexual assault, and one count each of robbery and burglary, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Najma Rana said.

The woman was 37 years old at the time of the Dec. 17, 2005, assault at her home, on 10th Street near Manila Avenue, and she testified at trial. The DNA match that pointed to McKane identified him as the rapist with a certainty of 332 billion to one, Rana said.

On the day of the attack, McKane climbed through the victim's first-floor window at the luxury apartment building and made her believe he had a weapon before raping her over the course of about an hour and then climbing out the window to escape, Rana said.

Investigators were able to recover DNA on a gin bottle McKane left outside the window and a water bottle inside the apartment, and when they ran it through the system they got the match, Rana said.

McKane's DNA was on record because a sample was taken after one of his previous convictions, Rana said, adding that he has prior arrests for drug distribution, robbery and drug possession. He was in prison from April 7, 2006 to May 15, 2007 on the drug dealing conviction, state corrections officials said.

Because of his prior convictions, McKane faces a sentence of 30 years to life, Rana said. His sentencing date was not available yesterday.

"We are very pleased with the verdict," Rana said.