NYC Firefighter Imposter Indicted

A New York fashion writer has been formally indicted on charges that he molested a woman in her apartment in a bizarre Halloween night attack that made him New York's most wanted man.

Prosecutor Maxine Rosenthal announced the indictment of Peter Braunstein on Friday at a court hearing. A disheveled-looking Braunstein attended the hearing. The knife wounds on his neck, the result of a suicide attempt when he was captured in Tennessee last week, were clearly visible.

Rosenthal said the grand jury had indicted Braunstein, 41, on charges of sex abuse, arson, burglary and robbery.

Braunstein's lawyer, Robert Gottlieb, asked the judge for a psychiatric examination to determine whether Braunstein was mentally fit to stand trial. The judge, Neil Ross, said he would leave that decision to the trial judge.

Ross set another court date in the case for January 5.

Braunstein allegedly posed as a New York firefighter on Halloween night and set two tiny blazes outside a 34-year-old woman's apartment. With smoke filling the hallway, he allegedly pounded on the victim's door and announced he was from the "FDNY," the fire department of New York City.

Police said he then bound the woman and molested her for more than 13 hours. The accuser also recalled the assailant videotaping the attack.

Braunstein then spent about six weeks on the lam, with reports of him drinking in bars in Cleveland and donating blood in Tennessee. Last week, Braunstein was spotted on a Memphis campus by a woman who police said recognized him from media reports.

Braunstein then said "I'm the person you're looking for" and stabbed himself in the neck. He was arrested by campus police and sent back to New York this week.