NJ man who raped woman at new Newark Airport parking garage sentenced

🔴 Rapist attacked the woman at EWR parking garage

🔴 Sentenced to nearly 2 decades in prison

🔴 $400M parking garage had been open less than a week

A North Jersey man who raped a woman in a newly opened parking garage at Newark Airport has been sentenced to years in prison.

A Union County judge sentenced Thomassal Watkins to 18 years in state prison on Friday, according to Union County Prosecutor William Daniel. He must serve over 15 years before he is eligible for parole.

Watkins, 42, pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated sexual assault last December.

Officials said the West New York man attacked the woman at Conrac Parking Garage around 9 p.m. on Jan. 18, 2023. The parking garage is connected to Terminal A at Newark Airport.

READ MORE: The latest on Debby: Day-by-day heavy rain forecast for NJ

The victim said to police she was walking to her car when Watkins ambushed her. She called Port Authority police minutes after the attack and officers quickly found Watkins nearby.

New parking garage boasted safety features

Terminal A and Conrac Parking Garage opened on Jan. 12, 2023 — just six days before the horrific nighttime sexual assault.

The massive parking garage with 2,700 spots cost $400 million of the $2.7 billion project for the new terminal.

While Conrac Solutions has its name on the parking garage, the company does not operate its security. That falls to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The garage came equipped with emergency phones, CCTV cameras, and "sufficient lighting," spokesperson Lenis Valens said in the days following the attack.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom