Repeat rapist gets 24 years in prison

A rapist was recently sentenced to 24 years in prison for an assault on a taxi driver this past winter.

Francis Barrios, 34, already a registered sex offender, pleaded guilty in March to raping the female driver after she picked him up one evening at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson.

During the Dec. 1 ride, authorities said, he beat and strangled her, causing the cab to crash into a fence on Mount Sinai-Coram Road in Mount Sinai. Then he sexually assaulted her, pulling her into the back seat and raping her.

Officers responded to the scene after a passing motorist called 911.

The Suffolk County Police Department has not identified the taxi company that the victim worked for, to protect her identity.

Police first identified Barrios as homeless, but the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office has since said he is from Middle Island. He has also been identified by the names Francis Berrios and Francisco Barrios.

The offender pleaded guilty to first-degree rape in late March, and was then sentenced in late April to 24 years incarceration, as well as 20 years of post-release supervision.

Barrios was previously convicted as a violent offender in Suffolk County, for first-degree attempted rape. According to the New York State sex offender registry, where he is listed as a Level 3 sexually violent offender, Barrios was convicted in November 2004 for sexual contact with a 12-year-old girl, who was described as a “non-stranger” to him. He was sentenced to 42 months in state prison for that crime.