The Pennsylvania construction worker accused of viciously beating and sexually assaulting a woman at a Midtown bar—because she refused to dance with him—pleaded guilty yesterday. Mbarek Lafrem had originally tried to blame the victim, a pediatric nurse, claiming, "She was trying to push me so I punched her in the face twice and pushed her back in the stall," but yesterday his lawyer said, "He felt it was the right thing to do at this juncture."
The woman was found unconscious with a fractured skull and broken eye socket in the bathroom of Social on West 48th Street. Surveillance video helped lead to Lafrem's arrest; it turned out that Lafrem was in town working on a construction job. He later told the Post, "I wasn’t myself. I was somebody else. I’ve never acted like that before. I made a mistake. I have to pay for it. I’m in the hole."
Charged with attempted murder and faced with a 20-year sentence, Lafrem accepted 16 years in his plea deal. The judge also recommended he be deported back to Morocco after his prison sentence.
