Son of Author Michael Chabon Is Charged With Rape in Manhattan
The 22-year-old son of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon faces rape and strangulation charges after a woman accused him of choking and hitting her while sexually assaulting her, court records show.
The man, Abraham Chabon, was arrested last week in connection with an episode last year, according to a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney's office.
The younger Mr. Chabon, a New York University student whose mother, Ayelet Waldman, is also a well-known writer, pleaded not guilty to first-degree rape and second-degree strangulation charges in Manhattan Criminal Court last Friday, court records show.
Mr. Chabon, who sometimes uses his mother's surname, was released after Judge Kacie Lally set bail at $45,000 or a $150,000 bond, and is scheduled to return to court in August, court records show.
A lawyer for Mr. Chabon, Priya Chaudhry, did not respond to a request for comment. She told The New York Post, which reported the charges earlier, that her client 'is innocent and was as shocked by these false allegations as anyone.'
A spokesman for N.Y.U. did not respond to a request for comment.
The episode in question occurred in a building on East 12th Street in January 2024, according to the complaint, which does not list a specific address.
The woman whom Mr. Chabon is charged with assaulting told the police that he grabbed her neck and applied pressure to the point that she had trouble breathing, the complaint says. The woman said he carried her to his bed and continued to choke her, the complaint says.
While choking the woman, the complaint says, Mr. Chabon raped her and struck her repeatedly in the face, 'causing stupor and loss of vision in one eye.' The woman told the police that she had experienced 'pain, swelling and bruising to her neck and face,' according to the complaint.
Michael Chabon's novels include 'The Mysteries of Pittsburgh,' 'Wonder Boys,' 'The Yiddish Policemen's Union,' 'Telegraph Avenue,' and 'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,' which won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for fiction and is the basis for an opera of the same name that is scheduled to have its New York premiere at the Metropolitan Opera this fall.
Mr. Chabon and Ms. Waldman have four children, including Abraham, and they have both written about their experiences as parents.
Kaja Andric contributed reporting.
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