Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Queens man was convicted today after a bench trial of raping three women in Hempstead between 2015 and 2020. A DNA swab taken from the defendant after his arrest for a rape in 2020 linked him to the other two violent crimes.
Adell Hardwick, 36, was convicted today after a bench trial before Judge Teresa Corrigan of three counts of Rape in the First Degree (a B violent felony); Predatory Sexual Assault (an A-II felony); and three counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree (a B violent felony). He was acquitted of one count of Predatory Sexual Assault. The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on September 26, 2024. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
“This defendant is a serial rapist with a long history of violent crimes,” said DA Donnelly. “He used his knowledge of Hempstead to identify secluded and abandoned areas and violently, forcibly raped women he had just met. The bravery of these women in coming forward to police after the defendant’s monstrous attacks led to the collection of DNA samples that together were the linchpin to his prosecution and to finally seeing justice for what they endured. My Cold Case Unit will continue to doggedly pursue leads and reevaluate evidence to solve these crimes.”
DA Donnelly said that, on January 25, 2015, the defendant approached a 42-year-old woman and walked with her to an abandoned house at 194 Main Street in Hempstead. The defendant raped the victim in the house. After a struggle, she was able to get away and contacted police. The victim was taken to Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) after the assault where a DNA swab was collected during a sexual assault examination.
On June 4, 2019, the defendant approached a 51-year-old woman who was meeting with friends at Denton Green Park in Hempstead. After her friends left, the defendant grabbed the woman and dragged her into the bushes where he raped her. The victim was able to escape and contacted police. She was brought to NUMC where a sexual assault examination was conducted, and a DNA swab was collected.
On January 30, 2020, the defendant approached at 55-year-old woman on the street in Hempstead and forced her into an abandoned garage. The defendant violently strangled the victim, raped her, and fled the scene. The victim contacted police and was immediately brought to NUMC for an examination where a DNA sample was collected.
The defendant was arrested on April 23, 2020, for the January attack by detectives with the Nassau County Police Department’s Special Victims Squad.
A buccal swab obtained after the defendant’s arrest was compared to the DNA samples retrieved after each of the incidents and positively identified the defendant as the attacker.
Deputy Bureau Chief Daryl Levy of the Homicide Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Bureau Chief Jared Rosenblatt and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Litigation Division Kevin Higgins. Hardwick is represented by Scott Gross, Esq.