Man Accused Of Randomly Punching New York Women Charged With Hate Crimes

A New York City man has been indicted on hate crime charges stemming from a series of alleged assaults, stalking, and harassment incidents, the BBC reported. The Manhattan District Attorney's office accuses Skiboky Stora, 40, of targeting victims based on their race, religion, and gender. This case gained national attention after one victim shared a video of her assault on social media. Mr. Stora has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

According to the Manhattan district attorney, he has been charged with three counts of third-degree assault as a hate crime, one count of third-degree stalking as a hate crime, and second-degree aggravated harassment. One of the accusations against Mr. Stora involves Halley McGookin, 23, who was assaulted in late March in Manhattan. She recorded her injury in a TikTok video that has garnered over 50 million views.

"You guys, I was literally just walking and a man came up and punched me in the face," she said. "Oh, my God, it hurts so bad. I can't even talk."

The district attorney's office stated that Mr. Stora allegedly "struck her in the head, causing her to fall to the ground," resulting in pain and swelling. 

In another incident in September of last year, a 17-year-old student walked past Mr. Stora, who allegedly elbowed him in the neck and used an expletive, saying, "You people think you can do whatever you want." 

Mr. Stora is also accused of elbowing a 37-year-old woman in the shoulder, causing pain and bruising, in October 2023. In a fourth incident in November 2023, he allegedly followed and harassed a young Jewish couple after they confronted him for tearing down posters of kidnapped Israeli hostages. He was arrested on March 27. He was arraigned in New York on Tuesday and granted permission to represent himself in court, according to BBC. 

"You know, it's a low-life individual that would do something like that, ma'am, but I never met this woman [Ms McGookin] a day in my life," he told CBS outside the courtroom.

Mr. Stora claims that the charges against him are in retaliation for a lawsuit he filed against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. 

He is scheduled to return to court in August.