A violent thug who’d been bailed out by a nonprofit — only to viciously choke and sexually violate a young woman in the Bronx a week after he was sprung — will stay behind bars for the next 18 years under a plea deal he took Wednesday.
Lynneke Burris, 30, of Brooklyn, already had a
lengthy rap sheet, including for violent muggings, and had been jailed on a new assault charge when The Bronx Freedom Fund posted his $1,000 bail on April 5.
On April 12, he followed a 23-year-old high school English teacher into the elevator of her apartment building, choking her there until she passed out.
Then he dragged her into a stairwell. When she regained consciousness, he ordered her to remove her clothing and sexually attacked her.
On Wednesday, Burris repeatedly said “Yes” to Bronx Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio as he was asked if he’d squeezed the woman’s neck until she passed out, and then committed one count of criminal sex act in the first degree.
Under the plea deal, he did not admit to the more serious charge of violent rape, thus avoiding a trial that could have resulted in a longer sentence, but which would have required the victim to testify in open court.
On Feb. 13, Burris will return to court to be sentenced to 18 years prison and 20 years probation.Before the end of his sentence, a determination could be made that he is too dangerous to be released due to mental illness, the judge told him.
The Bronx Freedom Fund did not respond to a request for comment