Sakir Akkan, a Turkish Muslim, 21, who entered the country illegally through San Diego in November 2023 and was released by Customs & Border Patrol, forced the girl into a vehicle while wielding a metal pole, then tore her clothes off and raped her.
Legal InsurrectionThe Border Patrol arrested Akkan in the San Diego sector on November 5, 2023. He claimed he wanted to go to Philadelphia but never gave agents an address. Authorities released Akkan a few days later “on his own recognizance due to a lack of bed space and ordered to appear in a Philadelphia court on Feb. 19, 2025.”Akkan got a New Jersey driver’s license, bought a car, and lived in Troy, NY.
The rape incident began on May 14th. The teenage girl told police that Akkan, whom she was able to identify from a photo lineup, drove up to her in a green Toyota Prius, got out and was clutching a metal rod as he threatened to beat her if she didn’t get in his vehicle and follow his orders to get in the back seat, where he removed her clothing and forcibly raped her. After the sexual assault, Akkan let the girl out of his car and drove away.
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.
“If an illegal alien snatching a kid (off a public street) and raping them and remaining on the loose is not a threat to public safety, then what is a threat to public safety?” an individual involved in the investigation told the Times Union. Federal immigration authorities have also been reluctant to speak about the matter.
Following the report, Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin took to social media calling the situation a “cover up”. Albany County Legislator Frank Mauriello released a statement, stating that authorities are trying to hide crimes like this and the consequences of open border policies.
The police only started talking about the “alleged rape after the local news outlet started probing — even as the suspect was on the loose for about a month.” The police said inconsistencies led them to keep the alleged rape a secret.
But The Times-Union found no inconsistencies: Information shared with the Times Union indicates that the girl’s statements to police were consistent, including the night of the assault when she was interviewed at Albany Medical Center Hospital. When the girl was interviewed a second time by detectives on May 30, more than two weeks after the incident, she made statements that were consistent with her earlier statements to the officers who responded to the call, records show.
