Jersey City ex-con sentenced to five years for raping woman who was drunk and passed out at motel; it was prostitute who called cops on him

Saturday, January 08, 2011
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A Jersey City felon was sentenced to five years in prison yesterday for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman in a Tonnelle Avenue motel, where a prostitute saw what was happening and called police, officials said.

Jose Vazquez, 30, of Baldwin Avenue, who pleaded guilty to sexual assault, must serve more than four years in prison before becoming eligible for parole, said Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Najma Rana.

On July 27, 2008, Vazquez spent time driving around Manhattan with the victim, who is in her 20s, before going to the motel with her, Rana said, adding that at one point the prostitute entered the room and saw what was happening.

"She saw what was going on and called him names and said 'You are raping this woman!'" Rana said. "When the prostitute called 911, she said 'I'm a working girl and I can tell you she's not a working girl. She's not from around here.'"

The prosecutor said: "When police arrived they found the woman naked and unconscious and they stopped Vazquez as he was leaving the scene carrying a plastic bag with two used condoms in it. The DNA was found to match Vazquez."

"It was just a complete betrayal," Rana said. "Because of her inebriated state, he sexually assaulted her."

Vazquez was in prison from Feb. 2, 2001 to Jan. 21, 2003 for drug possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, state corrections records say. He has also gone by the alias Jose Vasquez.