Bronx man charged after Fashion Institute of Technology student dies

Federal prosecutors in New York charged a man on October 15, 2026, after a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology died in her dormitory room. The New York Post reported that 19-year-old Moises Freire of the Bronx was charged with participating in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy and distributing a deadly drug with intent to commit rape. [1]

According to the New York Post, Freire allegedly provided fentanyl to the student, which rendered her unconscious and caused her death while he sexually assaulted her. Prosecutors stated that a friend of the student also consumed the drug and nearly died. A second suspect, 18-year-old Brian Peralta Cabrera of Queens, was also charged in connection with the drug conspiracy. [1]

The incident comes amid heightened attention to campus sexual violence in New York. As FTMQ News reported earlier, Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff recently addressed separate allegations involving a female student who reported being drugged and gang raped at a fraternity house. [2]

In that earlier case at Cornell University, local prosecutors decided against pressing criminal charges following an initial police interview, leading to a civil lawsuit by the student, as FTMQ News reported earlier. [3]