A woman in the Bronx was subjected to a horrifying assault in the early hours of May 1, allegedly perpetrated by a man identified as Kashaan Parks. According to a report in the New York Post, Kashaan is accused of using a belt to lasso the victim's neck, dragging her unconscious, and then raping her.
Beverly Parks, Kashaan's mother, has come forward, claiming she spent the entire night persuading her son to surrender to authorities after learning of the incident from her daughter-in-law. In an interview with the New York Post, an exhausted Beverly admitted to being the one who turned her son in, stating, "I'm his mother that turned him in. I'm the one that facilitated him being arrested."
Who is Kashaan Parks?
Beverly Parks told the publication that Kashaan, 39, is an unemployed, married father of two, who had been grappling with alcohol and substance abuse issues in recent times, worsened by the death of his father last month.
Kashaan and his family had been residing in North Carolina but recently relocated to New York.
He was arrested on Saturday and now faces charges including first-degree rape, assault, strangulation, sex abuse, public lewdness, and harassment. Police say that surveillance footage captures a masked assailant, purportedly Kashaan, approaching the victim, tossing a belt around her neck, and dragging her between parked cars to carry out the crime.
According to the report, this isn't Kashaan's first brush with the law; he has two prior public arrests, including an alleged assault on a woman in the Bronx and fare evasion on an MTA bus.
Beverly Parks expressed hope for her son's redemption while acknowledging the gravity of his crime. "I'm a woman, and I am sorry that this happened to this person. Whatever she has to live with, I am going to have to think about that for the rest of my life," she told the publication.