A woman was sentenced to more than a decade behind bars after she threw acid in a subway rider's face during an unprovoked attack at a Brooklyn station, according to the Brooklyn district attorney.
Rodlin Gravesande was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the Dec. 2022 incident which left the victim with second- and third-degree burns to the left side of her face. Gravesande had been convicted of first- and second-degree assault in May.
The attack occurred after the victim, a 21-year-old woman, was riding to work at Kings County Hospital on a southbound No. 2 train just before 1 a.m. on Dec. 2, 2022, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. As she was on the train, Gravesande started to yell, threaten and push passengers aboard the subway for several minutes, before turning her attention to the victim.
The train soon after stopped at the Winthrop Street Station in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, where the victim got off — followed by Gravesande. The two traded words on the platform, the DA said, before the victim tried to walk away. But Gravesande punched her in the head, and when she walked toward the stairs, Gravesande followed her.
She then took out a vial of sulfuric acid and threw it in the victim's face, the investigation found. Gravesande, 34, ran from the station immediately after.
The victim ran from the station to the hospital where she worked. She was transferred to the burn unit at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx for treatment.
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Since the attack, the victim has had a nose and lip reconstruction, in addition to multiple skin grafts. As a result of the burns she suffered, the victim has permanent facial scarring.
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Gravesande fled to Atlanta but was extradited back to Brooklyn in Jan. 2023. Attorney information for her was not immediately available.
