Two Teens Arraigned in FIT Drugging and Rape Case

The charges are serious. The defendants, at least in appearance, looked barely old enough to understand the weight of them.

Two adult teens accused in a deadly drugging case involving a Fashion Institute of Technology student appeared in Manhattan federal court Wednesday morning. Brian Peralta Cabrera, 18, and Moises Freire, 19, pleaded not guilty to charges in a superseding indictment before U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein in the Southern District of New York.

Both are charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death and serious bodily injury. Freire faces two additional counts, including distribution of narcotics resulting in death or serious bodily injury and distributing drugs with the intent to commit rape.

The charges stem from a March 18 incident inside an FIT dormitory, where federal prosecutors allege Freire supplied two female students with fentanyl disguised as cocaine. Both lost consciousness. One student, 21, never woke up and died three days later. Her friend survived after receiving emergency medical treatment.

As Los Angeles Magazine previously reported, prosecutors say Freire sexually assaulted one of the women while she was unconscious, with the other incapacitated just feet away.

Rather than immediately calling for help, Freire allegedly spent approximately 40 minutes sending photographs of the unconscious women to friends before alerting campus security. Even more disturbing, prosecutors say Freire had reason to believe the drugs were dangerous well before bringing them to the dormitory.

According to a 40-page federal court transcript obtained by Los Angeles Magazine, Freire allegedly sampled the substance 11 days earlier and became physically ill. He later described it in messages to a friend as “straight poison.”

The feds allege Freire nevertheless assured the women that the substance was pure cocaine obtained from a trusted source in Mexico. Toxicology testing later detected fentanyl, but no cocaine.

The indictment also alleges Freire discussed obtaining drugs that would last all night and suggested that getting the women addicted would be a “win win situation.”

Back in court Wednesday, Peralta Cabrera, previously released on a $75,000 personal recognizance bond, was sporting a head full of curls and appeared visibly nervous. His attorney declined to answer questions from reporters inside the courtroom.

Freire, meanwhile, appeared more relaxed. Dressed in tan Metropolitan Detention Center clothing and handcuffs, he appeared to have a slight smirk as he walked out of the courtroom. Both defendants looked considerably younger than their ages, in contrast to the serious federal charges they face.

At one point during the brief proceeding, Stein asked whether the defendants wanted the superseding indictment read aloud.

“What’s your pleasure?” the judge asked.

Both declined and entered not guilty pleas.

Freire’s public defender, Mitchell Schwartz, previously called out the government’s characterization of his client’s relationship with the deceased student, Annabel Richter, arguing that the two had known each other for more than a year and had previously been romantically involved.

Richter, 21, had moved to New York City from Brazil to pursue her dreams of a career in fashion. Friends and family remembered her as sweet, bright and kind, a young woman whose life was cut tragically short. Her death has left her loved ones devastated as they mourn a future she never had the chance to fulfill.

During an April bail hearing, Schwartz also argued that Freire’s actions amounted to youthful recklessness. Stein was not persuaded.

“It’s not dumb teenager things to give somebody fentanyl, sir,” the judge responded, according to the transcript. Stein denied Freire bail, citing the strength of the government’s evidence and concerns that he could flee.

A third man, Harry Rosales Pino, identified by prosecutors as an earlier supplier in the drug distribution chain, pleaded guilty in September to conspiring to distribute narcotics resulting in death and serious bodily injury. He is awaiting sentencing.

Los Angeles Magazine has reached out to Schwartz for additional comment following Wednesday’s arraignment.

Peralta-Cabrera left 500 Pearl St. and was met with a slew of questions from reporters, but declined to answer.

A trial is scheduled for March 1, 2027. Both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

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