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Retrial Set In Serial Sex Attack Case

Arthur J Pais in New York

To the prosecutors George Philips is a remorseless serial sex attacker who preyed on the young and either raped or molested five women in Queens. And in nearby Nassau county, he is charged with similar attacks against four women, between the ages of 16 and 20.

But Philips and his lawyer argue that he has been set up by the police under intense pressure from their superiors and the public to nab a serial rapist.

The masked rapist is somewhere out there, Philips's lawyer suggests. But the authorities ask why then had the rapes stopped following Philips' arrest.

On May 26, nine out of 12 jurors voted to convict him in the Queens attacks, after deliberating for a week but the verdict of the hung jury would lead to another trial, expected to start in the last week of September.

"This case is going to be pursued vigorously," a statement from Queens district attorney's office said.

If the new jury unanimously votes to convict him, Philips could technically face over 200 years in prison -- which means, he would not be eligible for parole. The Nassau county trial is yet to start. If he is found guilty in that trial, he could face more than 100 years in prison.

Again, technically, the two law enforcement agencies could combine the sentence, slapping him with over 300 years in prison.

But Philips, a 34-year-old handyman, could be deported to India after fulfilling part of his sentence. He is charged in Queens assaults with 13 counts of first degree sexual abuse, four counts of first degree sodomy, two counts of first degree rape and five counts of kidnapping. Each count, except that of sexual abuse, carries a 6 to 25 years in prison sentence. The sexual abuse count carries a penalty of two to seven years.

The attacks began in 1996, prosecutors say. Philips preyed on teenage girls and young women walking home, he forced them into his used car, and either raped or sodomized them, they say. His lawyer Thomas Liotti wonders how the slightly built man could have committed the numerous assaults. Earlier, he had suggested that Philips's former wife had spread rumors about him to spite her ex-husband.

There is no physical evidence to link his clients, Liotti told the jurors. None of the victims have identified Philips as the perpetrator, the jury said. The assailant always covered his face with a mask; he also forced the victims to cover their faces with their blouses or shirts, Liotti said.

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