FIT Dorm Fentanyl Case: Two Men Indicted After Student Raped and Killed

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have indicted two men in connection with the FIT dorm fentanyl rape death of a Fashion Institute of Technology student, an episode that also left a second student hospitalized but alive. The case, announced Thursday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, centers on a March 18 incident inside a college residence hall.

Charges Against Freire and Cabrera

Moises Freire, 19, of the Bronx, faces three federal counts: distribution of a controlled substance with intent to commit rape, distribution of narcotics resulting in death, and conspiracy. Brian Peralta Cabrera, 18, of Queens, is charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death and serious bodily injury. Both men have pleaded not guilty. Lawyers for the defendants did not immediately return requests for comment.

How the Drug Was Supplied

According to the indictment, Freire provided the drug to one of the women on March 18. He described it as pure cocaine from Mexico and assured her it contained no fentanyl. But prosecutors allege Freire knew the substance was fentanyl—he had previously referred to it as fake and poison—and that he obtained it from Cabrera. When both women arrived at the dorm, Freire urged them to take it.

They fell unconscious almost immediately.

Rape, Photos, and a Delayed Call for Help

While one woman was overdosing, Freire raped her, the indictment says. The other woman lay unconscious a few feet away. Freire then took nude photographs of the woman he had raped and sent them to friends, according to prosecutors.

Roughly 45 minutes passed before Freire contacted campus security. When he did, he told officers the women had passed out from drinking too much, the indictment alleges.

Emergency Response and Medical Outcome

Campus security personnel provided emergency medical services and transported both women to a nearby hospital. One regained consciousness. The other, the woman who had been raped, died a few days later from complications of acute fentanyl intoxication.

The women were identified in court documents as FIT students but were not named by prosecutors.

Official Response and Broader Context

Christopher Roberts, special agent in charge of the DEA New York Task Force Division, commented on the case, emphasizing campus safety and the threat posed by predators. The Fashion Institute of Technology did not return requests for comment.

The case arrives amid heightened national attention to campus sexual misconduct, including a lawsuit at Cornell University alleging gang rape and a reported sexual assault near the University of Chicago.