Serial Kidnapper and Rapist in Hudson Valley Headed to Prison

A man with a long and disturbing history of kidnapping and sexual violence in the Hudson Valley is headed back to state prison after pleading guilty to another unthinkable attack

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Walsh II announced that 49-year-old Eduardo Hernandez of Garnerville pleaded guilty to kidnapping a woman in Rockland County Court at the end of last year.

A Long Criminal History

What makes this case especially troubling is that Hernandez had only been out of prison a little over three years before the most recent attack.

According to prosecutors, Hernandez’s crimes date back more than two decades in the Hudson Valley.

The first known case happened on December 22, 2002. A 48-year-old woman was walking along a path at the Marian Shrine in the Town of Haverstraw when Hernandez allegedly ran up from behind, covered her eyes and mouth and put a rope around her neck. He dragged her off the path toward a wooded area, but the woman fought back and managed to escape with the rope still around her neck. Years later, DNA evidence connected Hernandez to the attack.

Two years later, on April 18, 2004, investigators say Hernandez carried out another violent assault in the Village of West Haverstraw. A 52-year-old woman walking home from a grocery store on Cosgrove Avenue was grabbed from behind, pulled into a van and raped. After the attack, Hernandez reportedly stole her purse and money before forcing her out of the vehicle and driving away.

Later that same night, authorities say Hernandez attempted to abduct another woman inside the laundry room of the Kensington Circle apartment complex in Haverstraw. The 31-year-old victim fought back and screamed for help, causing Hernandez to flee.

Police stopped him a short time later, and investigators eventually were able to tie him to all three crimes.

Hernandez ultimately served 19 years in state prison before being released in March 2022.

Latest Hudson Valley Attack to Send Hernandez Back to Prison

Investigators say that just three years after being released for his heinous crimes against women, Hernandez grabbed another female victim outside a home. On September 14, the convicted rapist put his hand around a woman's neck and held a screwdriver to her throat while threatening to kill her. Authorities say he restrained the victim in an attempt to abduct her.

But the woman fought back.

Officials say she managed to break free and call for help while witnesses watched Hernandez flee the scene in a vehicle. One of those witnesses was able to get the license plate number.

Police located the vehicle the next morning and attempted a traffic stop in nearby Stony Point around 9:15am. Hernandez ran from the car but was quickly caught and taken into custody.

According to prosecutors, Hernandez is expected to be sentenced to another 14 years in state prison when he returns to court on June 3.