Man Charged With Attempted Rape and Burglary at SUNY Purchase

Dante Beamon faces five felony charges after authorities said he illegally entered a dorm room on the SUNY Purchase campus and attempted to rape a female student living there.

Beamon, 26, of 105 Juniper Hill Rd, White Plains (located in Greenburgh and not the city of White Plains), allegedly entered the student's bedroom on Nov. 13, 2010 at 1:30 a.m. He then demanded that the woman remove her clothes and told her they were going to have sex, authorities said.

After the victim demanded that he leave, Beamon allegedly choked her with an article of clothing before the woman was able to escape and alert authorities, according to a press release from Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore. The defendant did not know the victim and is not a student at the school, according to authorities.

Beamon left the building after the incident, leading to a manhunt on campus involving the Westchester County, Harrison and Rye Police Departments. The defendant was found and arrested by campus police. He was remanded to the Westchester County Jail and has been held there since the incident. 

The morning of the incident SUNY Purchase's student affairs office sent a message to all students informing them that a non-student had been apprehended after he "entered an unlocked campus residence and attempted to assault a student."

The e-mail stated that the school considered the incident a very serious matter and provided basic safety tips for students. No other information was provided at the time.

Beamon faces five felony counts, including first degree attempted rape, second degree burglary with sexual motivations, second degree burglary, second degree attempted assault and first degree sexual assault. He also faces two counts of second degree unlawful imprisonment, both misdemeanors. He is due in court on Feb. 8.

A 2003 graduate of the Greenburgh Central School District No. 7, Beamon has been arrested before and is "known to police in Greenburgh," according to a spokesperson from the district attorney's office. 

If convicted he faces 15 years in prison.