Terrell Campbell, 29, of Brooklyn, charged in Elmont acid attack on Nafiah Ikram

A Brooklyn man has been indicted in the attack of an Elmont college student who was splashed in the face with sulfuric acid in her driveway as she returned home from work almost five years ago, officials said.

Terrell Campbell, 29, of Brooklyn, appeared in a Mineola courtroom Tuesday morning and pleaded not guilty to a Monday indictment on two counts of assault, one count of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of unlawful possession of noxious materials in connection with an attack on Nafiah Ikram on March 17, 2021.

Ikram, then a 21-year-old Hofstra student, was splashed with sulfuric acid in her driveway by a hooded and masked assailant, leaving her with second- and third-degree burns on her face and body and blind in one eye.

Prosecutors said the case was stalled for years and detectives pursued leads, but did not have a license plate or suspect until late last year, when a tip pointed to Campbell. Prosecutors said tips from the community, license plate records, an online search history and lyrics in a rap song helped build the case against Campbell.

Ikram told reporters outside her home in Elmont Tuesday afternoon news of an arrest in her case brought "tears of joy." She said she was still trying to make sense of the attack.

"I’m glad that even though it’s the beginning of a new chapter, I’m glad I closed the chapter on the uncertainty in the safety of looking over my shoulder; that’s helpful," Ikram said. "I was sitting in the courtroom listening, and I felt like I was in a dream just watching it with how much shock I was in."

Nassau Assistant District Attorney Brian Rodriguez said in court the arrest was the result of five years of "intense" investigation by the Nassau police, district attorney's office and other law enforcement partners.

Nassau County Judge Joy Watson ordered Campbell held without bail. Campbell’s attorney, Gregory Zak, declined to comment.

Prosecutors would not discuss any alleged motives in the attack, saying it remained under investigation as well as the possibility of additional suspects and if Campbell may have been paid in the attack.

Prosecutors said Ikram and her family did not know Campbell.

Ikram and her family sat in court as prosecutors recounted the attack and read the allegations against Campbell. Ikram hugged Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly and stood with her parents as police announced the arrest Tuesday at Nassau Police Headquarters.

Ikram’s mother, Sherina Mohamed, thanked investigators, prosecutors and victims' advocates for continuing to work the case.

"I want to thank everyone, the detectives and everyone that kept us in their prayers," Mohamed said. "They have been our backbone and we thank everyone and every prayer to get to this day."

Campbell, described as an aspiring rapper, eluded authorities for nearly five years. Prosecutors said he was eventually identified through tips and a description of his 2015 red Nissan Altima, including a roll of paper towels seen in the back window, which matched surveillance footage outside Ikram’s house.

Footage showed the Nissan parked down the block at about 8 p.m. the night of the attack, watching the front yard at the time Ikram was getting off work, Rodriguez said. A hooded attacker was seen in the back seat of the Nissan, which pulled up in front of a house next door. 

Ikram had just arrived home from work with her mother, who went into the house while Ikram went to the backseat to grab a bag of oxtail.

Prosecutors said the attacker was wearing gloves and holding a Styrofoam cup with 70% sulfuric acid and splashed Ikram in the face while her back was turned.

"She knew something was wrong and walked as quickly as she could, but it was already too late," Rodriguez said.

The acid damaged her eyes, and she suffered second- and third-degree burns to her face, chest and arms. The acid melted her contact lenses, blinding her in the right eye.

One of the officers who arrived from a 911 call at the home said "it looked like the skin was falling off her face," prosecutors said.

The acid also badly burned her esophagus and she felt like her throat was closing. She has since had to have multiple surgeries to remove scar tissue to breathe, eat and drink properly, Donnelly said. 

Prosecutors also obtained Campbell’s online search history which revealed four minutes after the attack searches including the terms "sulfuric acid fabric remover" for a car seat and a car cover. He later searched for Nassau police, "Hammurabi’s Law — eye for an eye" and "acid attack, Franklin Square, Long Island," all before the attack was publicly reported.

In 2023, prosecutors said Campbell, who went by the rap name YungBasedPrince, posted a song on YouTube called "Obsidian," named for hardened volcanic lava. The lyrics included, "on the street in the night like a hitman assassin, try to run up, have your face burn in acid."

Campbell was arrested in Massachusetts on the indictment reached Monday night. Prosecutors said he has no prior criminal record.

"There are still questions to be answered, but one of the key questions in this five-year mystery has finally been answered," Rodriguez said.

Donnelly said the case was nearing a five-year statute of limitations to file charges by March 17.

She said tips from the community helped identify a suspect, which may result in the payment of a $50,000 reward.

"It's sickening. It's cruel and it's brazen, but through the incredible detective work and through the incredible partnership with my prosecutors, finally, we believe this almost 5-year-old mystery has been solved," Donnelly said.

Over the last decade, it has been relatively rare for a person to be arrested on unlawful possession of a noxious material as their most serious alleged offense, according to state criminal justice data. Law enforcement conducted just over 600 arrests in New York with the unlawful possession of a noxious material as the most serious offense between 2015 and 2024, according to the most recent available data.

On Long Island, there were nearly 100 arrests for unlawful noxious material possession, according to the state data. Most of those arrests in the region were in Suffolk County — which had the third most of these types of arrests in the state, behind Manhattan and Onondaga County, home to Syracuse.

Typically, the person charged with the noxious material possession crime is a man, although the split is closer to 50-50 on Long Island than it is statewide, according to the data. Generally, the person is below the age of 35 and most often in their 20s.

Newsday's Joshua Solomon contributed to this story.