AP News, July 3rd, 2007
A former Caribbean Olympic sprinter suspected of attacking women in city parks since 2003 has been ordered held without bail on two counts of rape and other charges and must undergo a psychiatric exam, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Alvin Henry, 30, a former member of the Trinidad and Tobago relay team in the 2000 Sydney Games, was arraigned Monday night. He was charged with two counts of rape, sexual abuse, coercion and endangering the welfare of a child in attacks in Brooklyn.
A police department statement said previously that the same man also was a suspect in several sexual attacks in Queens parks.
A police official speaking on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that Henry confessed in detail in relation to the Brooklyn charges and implicated himself in Queens attacks.
Chief Michael Collins, a police spokesman, said Tuesday that Henry was expected to be charged in Queens as well.
Brian Lewis, secretary general of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that Henry had been a promising athlete.
"Mr. Henry, through sport, was able to make notable progress from his early troubled days," Lewis said. "He showed tremendous potential running at one time."
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Associated Press Writer Tom Hays contributed to this report.
(This corrects earlier version that incorrectly reported that Henry confessed to five rapes. A police official speaking on condition of anonymity told the AP that Henry confessed in detail in relation to the Brooklyn charges and implicated himself in Queens attacks.)
