Results tagged “sexualabuse”

The woman who killed her abusive father after strangling and castrating him in 2007 was acquitted of murder yesterday. However, Brigitte Harris was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter, a verdict she immediately said she was happy with. The 28-year-old had told jurors that, after years of rape and physical abuse at her father's hands, she was just trying to prevent him from abusing his two young granddaughters (her nieces), but not kill him.

A Brooklyn man who serves as religious director for his local church was arrested for sexually abusing a 10-year-old boy. Police say 58-year-old Angelo Serrano molested the boy, a family friend, in the child's Williamsburg home. It was unclear if the abuse was connected to Serrano's role volunteering for St. Lucy-St. Patrick Catholic Church in Fort Greene. A neighbor said of Serrano, "He's a beautiful guy. He really loved the children. He spent a lot of time with them and all like that."

When plotting to cut off some dude's Johnson, research is everything. On trial yesterday on charges of killing her father and cutting off his penis, airport security guard Brigitte Harris, 28, told jurors she thoroughly searched the Internet for rod-cutting inspiration, finding Lorena Bobbitt's infamous attack on her husband particularly helpful. But before anyone calls for banning the Internet to save the penises, note that Harris's father allegedly molested her since the age of 3 (and her younger sister).

The former manager of Columbia University's Pediatric Neurosciences Department of the Neurological Institute claims that he stole $180,000 from the school because his supervisor had been sexually abusing him. John Bzdil III, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud, spent $25,000 on his Poconos wedding and thousands on spa products; the Daily News reports, "Charges against Bzdil's estranged wife, Heather Brooke Rinehart, were dropped by prosecutors after Bzdil claimed she had nothing to do with the purchase of Bliss items like Mammoth Minty Scrub and Lovehandler." Bdzill, who faces 21-27 months in prison, told a judge, "Columbia was turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the fact that I was being sexually abused by [the boss]. Subconsciously, I was trying to make them pay attention to my situation and protect me from [him]. I felt deep shame for what he was doing to me and my inability to make him stop." However, his old boss, Cesar Rodriguez, who used to be financial director in the department, denied the accusations and told the Post, "When you are desperate, you'll do whatever you have to."

As Stuyvesant High School prepares for prom this weekend and the end of the school year to follow, word is that their school librarian has been arrested and charged with sexual abuse. The News reports that 56-year-old Christoper Asch is accused of inappropriate behavior with male students where he "massaged students' shoulders and backs, touched bellies and ran his hand through kids' hair." The Department of Education intends to fire Asch after having him reassigned to the rubber room last fall. According to a report obtained by the Post, "He'd creep the boys out even more by smirking or whispering in their ears to be quiet while he groped them in the library." His lawyer told reporters, "Mr. Christopher Asch categorically denies engaging in any inappropriate conduct with students, and ... intends to vigorously defend the charges."

A pediatrician was arraigned Friday after being charged with sexually abusing a 13-year-old male patient of his. Dr. Jamie Luis Cortes has been accused of kissing and touching the genitals of the child, a patient at a Washington Heights clinic whom he is suspected of having sexual contact with since the boy was ten. The DA's office says that Cortes has given the boy money and a cellphone and sent him inappropriate text messages and explicit photographs. An employee of Cortes's alerted police that she witnessed abuse after the child's mother spoke with the employee about her concern over the amount of time the doctor and her son were spending together. Cortes had previously been acquitted after being accused of molesting two boys in 1994. He would face up to 7 years in prison if convicted on the new charges.

Authorities have arrested a 62-year-old bus driver after a bus matron allegedly saw him fondling a mentally challenged student. The matron had left the bus to take another student into P.S. 226 in Bensonhurst, and when she returned, she apparently saw Efrim Bondarev's hand down the 14-year-old girl's shirt. Bondarev works for a private bus company contracted by the Department of Education.

A 27-year-old rookie police officer turned a drunken assignation into a felony rape charge earlier this week. Kevin Johnson allegedly met a number of women at a midtown bar Monday night and accompanied them back to the Gershwin Hotel, where the women were staying on East 27th St. They were visiting New York for a hairdressers convention, and Johnson reportedly had consensual sex with one of them.

A 61-year-old man from Stamford, CT, Michael Martin, was arrested Thursday afternoon after he allegedly abused three children at two separate restrooms in Brooklyn parks. The first incident occurred at a park in Gravesend, Brooklyn Thursday, when Martin is accused of following an 8-year-old girl and a 4-year boy into a public restroom where he sexually assaulted them. Later, he is accused of attacking another 8-year-old girl in the bathroom of a Kensington, Brooklyn park. Cops say that Martin ran off on both occasions when the children began to cry.

An NYPD officer is accused of using his authority to sexually prey on and assault women. Officer Wilfredo Rosario has been suspended from his position at Harlem's 26th Precinct as he was arraigned on charges of first-degree sexual abuse, official misconduct, unlawful imprisonment and attempted coercion. The charges stem from an incident in which Rosario met a 27-year-old woman with her child while he was in uniform. He told the woman he could help her get a job as a school crossing guard and her child into an after-school program. The police officer took her name and information and told her he would contact her.

Dennis Gallagher, the married City Councilman representing Queens who was accused of raping a constituent in a drunken encounter last year, announced his planned resignation after pleading guilty to sexual abuse and forcible touching. Last summer, a 52-year-old woman alleged that she met Gallagher at a bar in Queens and after a night of drinking went with the Councilman to his district office, where he raped her.

A heretofore secret witness--previously described as a jailhouse snitch--testified in the murder trial of Cesar Rodriguez, charged with killing his 7-year-old stepdaughter Nixzmary Brown in 2006. The witness claimed the girl's mother confessed to killing her daughter.

On the day that MySpace agreed to work with 49 states to stop sexual predators from using the social networking site to find young victims, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown was announcing a disturbing 56-charge criminal complaint against a couple accused of rape, sexual abuse, and forcing two young teens into performing sexual acts at a Manhattan strip club. Julio Rojas, a stripper, is being held on $500,000 bail while his wife, Sophie Soto, also a stripper, is being held on $250,000 bail.