Blue State Police Failed To Notify Public After An Illegal Immigrant Allegedly Raped 15-Year-Old Girl

The Albany Police Department arrested a Turkish man on rape charges several months after he unlawfully entered the United States, but they chose not to immediately notify the public.

Albany police arrested Sakir Akkan, a 21-year-old Turkish national seeking asylum in the U.S., on June 18  after he allegedly threatened a 15-year-old girl with a weapon and then raped her in the back seat of his car, according to the Times Union. The Albany Police Department chose not to immediately notify the public of the alleged sexual assault at the time.

The lack of a news release by the Albany Police Department following the girl’s abduction, despite the alleged rapist remaining at large at the time, was called into question by the Times Union and others reportedly involved in the case. Albany police maintain that no notification was given because they deemed there was no immediate threat to the community.

“We want to assure the community that immediately after this incident was reported, an assessment was conducted and it was determined that there was no imminent threat to the public,” a statement from Police Chief Eric Hawkins, shared with the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation, reads.. “The common practice by the Albany Police Department is that information regarding sexual assaults are not released through a media release to prevent further trauma to the victim, unless there are other extenuating circumstances, such as if the situation poses an imminent threat to the public.”

Akkan’s 🛂Immigration status was “simply not a factor” in their decision to not issue a media release at the time, he said.