UPDATE: Man in Pub Beating Has Charges Upgraded

By Alicia Cruz

The Black Urban Times

The Pennsylvania man accused of viciously beating a 29-year-old nurse in the bathroom stall of a Manhattan nightclub has been hit with a more serious charge: Attempted murder.

At his arraignment in Manhattan criminal court this morning, Mbarek Lafrem, 30, had attempted rape added to the upgraded charge. Prosecutor Dan Brody called the case a "vicious and brutal attack."

The police initially said the victim was found sprawled on the floor of the bathroom stall with her pants unbuttoned, but the court documents read that the victim was found with "one pant leg completely off and the other around her ankle."

Lafrem, who works in construction, is a native of Morocco. At his arraignment, Lafrem appeared disheveled and was quiet until it was time to speak. When he did speak, he told the court how and why he beat the young woman so brutally.

"I was at the bar with the girl. I went into the bathroom and she started yelling at me," Lafrem said, according to court papers.

"She was coming toward me, so I grabbed her by the arm. She was trying to push me, so I punched her in the face twice and pushed her back into the stall. She fell into the stall and her head."

The young nurse, who remains in stable condition at New York Presbyterian Hospital, has underwent reconstructive surgery. Her head injury required 50 stitches and she has a broken jaw, a skull fracture and a broken eye socket.

Lafrem has been appointed an attorney and is being held without bail.

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UPDATE: Suspect Arrested in Pub Social Brutal Beating

By Alicia Cruz

The Black Urban Times

A tip led New York City police to the man suspected of attacking a 29-year-old nurse after she rejected his dance request Thursday evening.

The woman, who was found by a worried friend after she failed to return from the bathroom, had been brutally beaten in the bathroom stall of pub Social in Manhattan. She is recovering at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell, where doctors performed reconstructive surgery.

Friday night, New York City Police arrested 30-year-old Mbarek Lafrem of Norwood, Pennsylvania after receiving a tip from two people who recognized Lafrem as a construction worker who had been staying at the Best Western motel on West 48th Street and called police.

On NYPD video footage, Lafrem was caught leaving the pub shaking his hand, as if it had been injured a short time after the 2:15 a.m. attack. Moments later, he's caught on a store surveillance camera grabbing a beer at a bodega and not paying for it.

Lafrem, who does not appear to have a criminal record, had been living at the motel off and on for approximately five months. His attack on the nurse left her with a broken eye socket, a fractured skull and a shattered nose.


The victim was found lying on the bathroom floor and her pants had been unbuttoned, leading police to believe that Lafrem may have attempted to sexually assault her. A rape kit will be performed to determine if the victim was sexually assaulted.

NYPD has charged Lafrem with assault and attempted rape after making statements to the East Harlem Special Victims Unit Squad that implicated himself in the attack.

A former neighbor of Lafrem's said he was shocked to hear of the arrest.

"I know he liked to drink," said the unidentified neighbor. "But I've never seen him fight."

The family and friends of the victim have declined to speak to the media, but in a statement released by the hospital, they expressed "sincere gratitude for the outpouring of support they have received."

RELATED STORIES
Nurse found brutally beaten in bathroom stall



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