A 21-year-old Brooklyn man convicted of kidnapping a young girl was sentenced today to 10 years in prison despite his pleas for "mercy and leniency." Bernard Mutterperl wept before a judge, pleading that he needed help "outside of jail" as punishment for the Mother's Day 2007 incident in Midwood where he followed Xochil Garcia home and grabbed the girl, who was then 11. But the judge fell on the more stringent side of sentencing that could have fallen anywhere from 3 1/2 to 15 years. Garcia, now 13, testified at the trial this spring and spoke again in court today, recounting how she has suffered panic attacks and feared going out alone. She looked at Mutterperl and said, "You messed up my life. Some people want to fight me for no reason. Some people want to be my friend so they can be on TV ... I do not have any real friends now because of this." more ›

Two years ago, Xochil Garcia, then 11, made the cover of the Daily News after escaping a man who grabbed her in her Midwood apartment building. The girl rang all the intercom buzzers and got the attention of neighbors and her brother who caught Bernard Mutterperl, who allegedly told police, "when he sees young girls, he has to go after them." Yesterday, Xochil testified at Mutterperl's trial, with tears in her eyes, "He caught me from behind, he grabbed me. He told me not to scream. Then he grabbed my waist and he walked me down to the lobby." The Daily News reports that 21-year-old Mutterperl "said he took the girl's hand because he wanted to become friends" while his lawyer Joyce David argued, "He may not have acted appropriately, but he did not act criminally." Back in 2007, Xochil told the Post, "Before a robbery happens, I always think of a plan to do. But sometimes when I'm nervous or scared, I forget my ideas. I only came up with half a plan when I got caught," making us sad that kids have to have plans for when they are robbed. more ›