Federal prosecutors charged two New York men in a fentanyl distribution case that left one college student dead and another seriously injured.
NEW YORK — A Fashion Institute of Technology student died after a 19-year-old man allegedly gave her fentanyl, waited until she became unconscious and raped her inside her Manhattan dorm room, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday.
Federal prosecutors charged Moises Freire, 19, of the Bronx, and Brian Peralta Cabrera, 18, of Queens, in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy that prosecutors say caused one student’s death and nearly killed her friend. Freire also faces charges accusing him of distributing fentanyl that resulted in death and serious bodily injury and distributing a controlled substance with the intent to commit rape. The allegations have not been proven in court, and both defendants are presumed innocent.
The superseding indictment says the case began with an alleged fentanyl distribution conspiracy that ran from at least February through March. Prosecutors allege Freire told Peralta Cabrera that he wanted drugs strong enough to last through the night when he visited two female college students. Peralta Cabrera later provided fentanyl to Freire while knowing that Freire intended to distribute drugs to the women, according to federal authorities.
On March 18, prosecutors say Freire brought the fentanyl to the undergraduate residence hall where the two women lived. He allegedly represented the substance as cocaine and encouraged both students to take it. Toxicology testing later found fentanyl but no cocaine in their systems, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Both women lost consciousness shortly after taking the substance, prosecutors said. The indictment alleges Freire then sexually assaulted one of them while she was incapacitated. The woman never regained consciousness and later died from complications of acute fentanyl intoxication. The second student survived after receiving emergency medical treatment. Neither woman has been publicly identified in court papers.
Prosecutors allege Freire waited about 45 minutes before seeking help. During that period, authorities say he sent photographs of the unconscious women to other people. When he eventually contacted campus security, prosecutors allege he initially claimed the women had consumed too much alcohol. Campus personnel provided emergency aid, including naloxone, before both women were taken to Manhattan hospitals.
The student who died remained critically ill after the March 18 incident and died March 21. Her friend regained consciousness after treatment. Prosecutors have not publicly identified either woman, and court filings refer to them only as Victim-1 and Victim-2. The Fashion Institute of Technology was not identified by name in the indictment, but reporting on earlier court proceedings identified the residence hall as part of FIT.
Freire and Peralta Cabrera were arrested earlier this year and pleaded not guilty to an initial set of federal charges. Those earlier charges did not include the rape allegation later added against Freire. Both remained in federal custody as of Thursday and had not yet been arraigned on the superseding indictment, according to The Associated Press.
A third man, Harry Rosales Pino, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death and serious bodily injury, according to federal prosecutors and court reporting. His sentencing is scheduled for December. Prosecutors have not alleged that Pino committed the sexual assault described in the new indictment.
The conspiracy charge against Freire and Peralta Cabrera carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a possible maximum of life if they are convicted. Freire faces an additional drug-distribution charge carrying the same sentencing range and another charge of distributing a controlled substance with intent to commit rape, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years.
Freire’s attorney previously disputed the government’s characterization of the events leading to the overdoses, while prosecutors have maintained that Freire knowingly supplied fentanyl and failed to immediately seek help after the women became unconscious. Attorneys for the defendants did not immediately provide new public responses to the superseding indictment in reports published after it was unsealed.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York following an investigation involving the Drug Enforcement Administration and New York Police Department. Freire and Peralta Cabrera remain accused, not convicted, and the new charges will proceed through federal court.
Author note: Last updated October 16, 2026.