Jawarren Booker, of Ridge, charged in alleged sexual assault of woman, 74, Suffolk police say

Suffolk County police said a fingerprint helped them track a Ridge man charged with rape of a 74-year-old woman on Friday in a Holbrook apartment complex.

Police said they worked with the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office and U.S. marshals to arrest Jawarren Booker at an apartment Tuesday night in the Bronx.

Booker was charged Tuesday with first-degree rape and burglary after police said he climbed through a woman's apartment window between 6:15 and 7:15 a.m. Friday and assaulted her.

"Certain crimes shock the conscience and cause you to question your faith in humanity," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said Wednesday. "And unfortunately, last Friday, one of those crimes occurred."

Police did not say whether Booker knew the woman but said he was sleeping on a mattress in an apartment in the same complex, which they did not identify.

Suffolk detectives worked with the medical examiner, U.S. marshals and the NYPD to locate Booker, who was splitting his time between Ridge, Holbrook and the Bronx. He was known to law enforcement and has a prior criminal record, Catalina said.

"The victim is incredibly strong. And again, we can't thank her enough for all that she's done in this investigation. Because, quite frankly, if an individual like this is allowed to stay on the street, he's probably going to do this again," Catalina said.

  Booker pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon in First District Court in Central Islip, where Judge Alonzo Jacobs ordered him remanded without bail.

Prosecutors said Booker was seen on surveillance footage prior to the attack buying condoms and beer, including the same brand of a beer can found behind the victim's apartment.

The woman said she was in her living room when she heard a noise in her bedroom just after 6 a.m. Friday and found a man dressed in black, wearing a black ski mask, Assistant District Attorney Aileen E. Iorio said in court.

The woman said the man, identified as a stranger in court records, pushed her onto the bed and raped her.

Detectives took evidence from the woman's apartment, including a fingerprint on a makeup bottle that police said the assailant grabbed during the attack, prosecutors said, and it returned as a match to Booker.

Police also gathered surveillance footage from businesses near the apartment that were submitted for facial recognition. DNA results were pending, Iorio said.

The woman was taken to Stony Brook University Medical Center where she was treated. Booker's defense attorney, Natasja Berlinger, said her client was not identified by the victim and there were no DNA results tying him to the crime.

She said Booker had ties to the community, including a 4-year-old son.

The judge issued a protection order for Booker to stay away from the victim. He faces 5 to 25 years in prison if convicted on each count:

Booker's mother and sister sat in court during the arraignment but declined to comment.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.