LOCKPORT, NY: Niagara County District Attorney Brian D. Seaman announced that an indictment was unsealed in Niagara County Court this afternoon charging Alexander Bryant, 19 years old, of Niagara Falls, in two separate sexual assaults.
Bryant is charged with two counts of Predatory Sexual Assault, First Degree Rape, and First Degree Criminal Sexual Act for an assault that occurred on September 19th of this year in Niagara Falls. The Predatory Sexual Assault charges allege that Bryant used a firearm in the commission of the sexual assaults.
Bryant is also charged with the Crimes of Predatory Sexual Assault and Criminal Sexual Act in the First and Second Degree for an assault against a juvenile occurring on October 6th, also in the Falls. In this instance Bryant is again charged with using a firearm in the commission of the crimes.
Bryant is charged with an additional count of Predatory Sexual Assault because the assaults were against separate victims. Finally, Bryant is charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree. When police took the defendant into custody he was in possession of a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol.
The indictment is the culmination of a short but intense investigation by the Niagara Falls Police Department after receiving reports of the two assaults with shared characteristics.
The defendant appeared in County Court where he was arraigned by County Court Judge John J. Ottaviano. Ottaviano remanded the defendant to Niagara County Jail without the possibility of bail. A further court date was scheduled for November 20th. The charges carry a possible maximum combined sentence of 90 years to life.
A charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
