Rupert Cruz, 65, admitted to raping a woman he befriended at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson in June 2023.

By Michael Mashburn From Daily Voice

A previously convicted sex offender will spend years more in prison for raping a woman he befriended at a Long Island hospital.

Rupert Cruz, 65, of Coram, was sentenced to 15 years behind bars in Suffolk County Court on Tuesday, Aug. 26, after pleading guilty to first-degree rape

Cruz met the 32-year-old victim while they were both patients at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson in June 2023, according to prosecutors. He offered her a ride home when they were discharged, and she accepted.

Once inside the car, Cruz gave the woman a drink from an opened soda can and began making sexual advances, which she rejected. 

A struggle ensued and the woman called a friend, who later told investigators she could hear the woman screaming for help before the phone dropped in between the seats.

Cruz then picked the victim up from the passenger seat and forced her onto his lap, prosecutors said. The victim told police that was the last thing she remembered before she woke up the next morning naked in a wooded area near Bartlett Pond Park in Middle Island.

The woman recalled being in pain, with scratches and bruises on her body, red marks on her neck, and broken blood vessels in her eye. She later traced her cell phone back to Cruz’ Coram home and reported the incident to police.

Afterward, the victim underwent a sexual assault exam at Stony Brook Hospital. It confirmed the presence of Cruz’ DNA, a profile of which was already registered with the New York State DNA database.

Cruz was previously convicted of first-degree rape and sexual abuse in 1987. He also has prior convictions for failing to register as a sex offender in 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2018.

“This sexual predator… targeted, drugged and violently attacked this woman,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney. “Sexual predators are dangerous no matter their age.

In addition to his time behind bars, Cruz must serve 10 years of post-release supervision.