Alleged ‘Collegetown Creeper’ Abraham Shorey pled guilty to residential burglary with intent to commit rape and assault with intent to commit rape in the San Diego County Court Friday.
The charges came from an attempted sexual assault in August in Ocean Beach, Calif. DNA evidence connects him to this case. When Shorey put his hand over the mouth of the woman he was attacking, she fought him off by biting his finger and drawing blood.
Shorey’s trial date was set for tomorrow, but Shorey’s guilty plea — a plea bargain — bypasses the need for a trial. Shorey’s sentencing date is Nov. 8, and he faces up to seven years and four months in federal prison.
In Ithaca, Shorey still faces conviction of two counts of burglary and two counts of sexual abuse. He is wanted as a suspect for 21 complaints. Beginning in May 2004, Shorey allegedly entered Cornell women’s rooms in Collegetown and stared at them while sleeping — earning himself the nickname “Collegetown Creeper.”
Gwen Wilkinson, Tompkins County district attorney, has not come to any definite conclusion on when Shorey will come to New York for a trial. He may be extradited to New York before or after he serves his California sentence. In a previous interview with The Sun, Tompkins County District Attorney said that “if Shorey is guilty [of his charges in New York], he will go to prison in New York, it’s just a matter of when.”
Shorey was scheduled for a Nov. 10, 2004 arraignment in Tompkins County, but never appeared in court that day. His grandmother had posted $5,000 bail for him. Until he was taken into federal custody in San Diego on May 5, Shorey was a fugitive.
America’s Most Wanted featured Shorey on both their television and radio programs and received tips Shorey was as far away as Marion County, Fl.
Shorey used aliases to elude the police in both Eugene, Ore., where he was stopped for a minor traffic violation, and in Chula Vista, Calif., where he also was stopped for a traffic violation.