3-year-old boy beaten to death at Pan American Hotel homeless shelter

 

 Queens Post

A toddler is dead after being found battered and bruised inside a homeless shelter in Elmhurst Sunday — and police are investigating the incident as a homicide.

The victim, a 3-year-old boy named Shaquan Butler, was found at around 7:40 p.m. by police inside the Boulevard Family Residence — a family homeless shelter located at 79-00 Queens Boulevard. The child’s parents called 911, police said.

Butler was unconscious and unresponsive with bruises throughout his body that were in different stages of healing, according to the NYPD.

The child had a faint pulse when emergency services arrived on the scene and he was then transported by EMS to NYC Health & Hospital/Elmhurst but could not be saved, police said.

The toddler was also found to have had a collapsed lung, police said.

The victim’s mother told police that the child began to act strangely and began choking shortly before they called 911, the NYPD said.

He then ran into a pillar inside the shelter, fell back and struck his head on the floor, the boy’s mother told police.

 However, police say that story was inconsistent with his injuries and the NYPD has now launched a homicide investigation.

 

Auburndale cellar becomes murder site

From CBS 2:

Police said they were called to a home on Ashby Avenue in the Auburndale neighborhood shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Sources told CBS2 the woman lived in the basement unit with five children, all under the age of 10. She was the only adult home at the time, sources said.

Police said officers found the little girl, identified as 1-year-old Elaina Torabi, unconscious and unresponsive and rushed her to Flushing Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Her brother was taken to Cohen Children’s Medical Center in critical condition.

The Administration for Children’s Services removed three other girls, ages 2, 4, and 5, from the home, unharmed. Sources told CBS2 there was no ACS history at the house.

Child slavery in Flushing

From PIX11:

The neat brick facade along the tree-lined Queens street gave no indication of the horrific crimes taking place inside, according to the district attorney.

Sook Yeong Park, 42, is accused of holding two South Korean children as slaves for six years, starting when they were just 9 and 11. Park, who faces charges of labor trafficking, among others, forced both children to work grueling hours at the house and at nearby businesses, forcing one child to sleep on the floor with no mattress and the other in a closet, according to the Queens District Attorney.

“According to the charges, the defendant cut off all contact between the two young victims and their parents in Korea," said D.A. Richard A. Brown. Park enslaved the children after one of her relatives brought the brother and sister to the country in January 2010, according to the criminal complaint. She then confiscated their passports and moved into a well-kept home on 196th Street, where she would hold them for years, Brown said.

The children were forced to meticulously clean the house, with the girl working after school from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., during which time she was also expected to give Park lengthy massages, manicures and pedicures, according to the complaint. On at least one occasion, Park allegedly made the girl give her a body massage for five hours while she watched television.

Sometimes she would pull the children out of school for days or even a month while forcing them to work on her home at 43-52 196th Street, according to the district attorney. Along with the work at home, Park made the girl and her brother work at a Queens grocery store for $10 an hour and pocketed all of her earnings, according to the complaint.

Meaningless legislation of the month

From the Daily News:

After the beating death of 3-year-old Jeida Torres in a Brooklyn shelter, a City Councilwoman is introducing legislation requiring homeless families to be shown a video and given information about domestic violence before being admitted to a city shelter.

Under the bill, sponsored by Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, the Department of Homeless Services would have to show videos and distribute brochures on both intimate partner violence and child abuse.

Shelter residents must be schooled on “what behavior will not be tolerated,” while victims will be more likely to realize they can seek help, Crowley said.

Cops play Santa for abused kids

From The Forum:

Officers from the 104th Precinct took it upon themselves to turn one Ridgewood family’s Christmas into a merry one.

After learning of how an abusive father’s rage was ruining the lives of his wife and four children, a handful of Queens cops came together to collect more than $1,200 in cash to keep the kids’ Christmas spirit alive.

Capt. Christopher Manson told the story of Sgt. Martha Lequerica and Officer Nicholas Cadavid, who spearheaded the efforts to give new meaning to the holidays for the family, including the 5-year-old son left bruised and stitched from a beating. He said officers responded to the family’s calls of abuse and poor living conditions, which were later validated when they found children forced to sleep on the floor.

“They had nothing,” Manson said. “The crammed conditions there were immeasurable.”

Without skipping a beat, Manson said his officers started raising money throughout the precinct with hopes to better the lives of the beaten 5-year-old and his three siblings from 2-months-old to 11-years-old. Within hours, the precinct was able to raise over $1,200 and counting with help from the Det. Thomas Bell of community affairs as well as the domestic violence desks.

“He was an abuser,” Bell said. “He abused his children and his wife.”

Just the precinct’s crossing guards alone were able to raise more than $300 to help make the family’s holiday season a bit brighter, Manson said.

The captain said officers made deliveries over the weekend, bringing the children an assortment of items purchased with the money including a car load of Christmas toys, bunk beds, blankets, pillows, winter clothes, snow boots, chocolates and more.

“We’re just trying to improve the life of one family right now,” he said. “I think it’s going to make a significant improvement. Cops do a lot of good things”

Queens people behaving badly

From the NY Post:

Cops responding to a domestic dispute in Queens Sunday found a squalid apartment filled with endangered children, abused pit bulls, dangerous snakes and a lizard.

Cops took Jasean Holmes from the run-down Richmond Hill flat, and arrested them both after seeing evidence of animal cruelty and danger to the five children.

Sources said cops have been called to the house dozens of times on domestic disputes, but never arrested the father because his wife would not press charges.

But this time, sources said, Holmes, 29, tangled with his wife after an EMS unit responded, and crew members witnessed the attack.

The EMS crew had actually arrived on the scene first around 8 a.m. in response to a call that someone had been bitten by a dog.

There, they saw the couple squabbling outside their home, and called police when the man started beating his wife and kicking one of the dogs.

Cops who arrived found four children, ages 7 through 11, in their apartment, along with five adult pit bulls, 10 pit bull puppies, two boa constrictor snakes and a lizard.

Holmes was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, torturing or injuring animals, acting in a manner injurious to a child, and assault for allegedly hitting his wife.

It was unclear if the woman would face any charges.

From the NY Post:

A tipsy squabble outside a strip club erupted into a bizarre catfight — complete with the stabbing of a helpful bystander — in Queens early Saturday, cops said.

A jealous threesome of women — Teira Fisher, 29, Tamara Fuller, 26, and Jazmine Smith — allegedly followed two other ladies from a nightclub to Riviera Gentleman’s Club in Astoria because they were mad the gals had gotten into the VIP section even though they were rejected.

The nightlife bullies then started hollering high-school-style insults such as “Snob!” and “You’re stuck up!” before punching the poor ladies in the face at around 3:15 a.m., according to police.

A bystander tried to break up the catty smackdown, but a boyfriend of one of the attackers then stabbed the good Samaritan in the thigh and cheek with a sharp object, police sources said.

The three women and the boyfriend, Robert Annunziatta, were charged with harassment and assault, police sources said.

Serial sex offender caught with kids

From NY1:

Joseph Denice, 24, was a volunteer religious instructor at the Saint Mel School in Flushing.

He allegedly used Facebook to contact a minor, which is against school policy.

The child's parent contacted school officials on December 31 about the alleged contact, and Denice was let go on Monday.

The Queens district attorney's office says Denice is a registered level-one sex offender who now lives on 15th Avenue in Whitestone.

Officials say he spent six months in prison in June for sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy between July to September 2009. The victim was in the afterschool program where Denice worked.

According to the district attorney, Denice forged letters from judges saying the boy had to have a "body scan" as part of an investigation by the Administration for Children's Services. Denice then performed several "body scans," which involved sexually touching the boy.

The Brooklyn Diocese said every volunteer goes through intensive training and a background check, and a diocese representative said a check was done on Denice in 2005.

However, no background check was made when Denice recently returned from prison.

NY1 also reported: According to the Brooklyn Diocese, Denice also volunteered at St. Kevin School in Flushing and St. Luke's in Whitestone. It was at St. Luke's where was asked to leave because parents became uncomfortable with how familiar he was with the students.

In addition to this, I received an e-mail from a reader who said Denice had also worked at World of Discovery Camp in Bayside and an afterschool program at IS25. But that hasn't been reported. Until now, anyway.

"He was part of the after school for 3 years and counselor at the camp for 7." - anonymous

Another proud first for Queens

From the NY Post:

A Queens pervert has netted the dubious distinction of becoming the first person in New York City to be charged with violating the state’s sex offender e-mail registration law.

Felix Ortiz, 31 was nailed this week for failing to inform authorities of his "internet activities" under the Electronic Security and Targeting of Online Predators Act (e-STOP) which passed in 2008, authorities said.

Ortiz had pleaded guilty to promoting a sexual performance by a child in 2008 and was serving a 10-year probation sentence.

As a registered sexy offender, he was then required under the e-STOP law to report his Internet activities.

He allegedly lied by telling authorities that he didn’t have any Internet accounts, e-mail addresses or screen names. He’s actually a member of Facebook and MySpace and has e-mail accounts with Gmail and AOL, officials said.

If convicted, Ortiz faces four years in prison.

Sicko throws child off balcony

From the NY Post:

A three-year-old boy died this evening after he was thrown from a seventh floor terrace in Queens by a "very depressed" woman living in his family’s apartment, authorities said.

The toddler, whose name was withheld, died in New York Hospital of Queens shortly after the horrific attack on Leavitt Street in Flushing at 8:35 p.m.

Queens DA Richard Brown identified the suspect as Xiao Aiu Cai.

The 53-year-old woman then tried to commit suicide by jumping from the same terrace but was pulled back by others in the apartment, Brown said.

Cai, who had just gotten into a dispute with her daughter, was taken into custody and charges were pending, Brown said.

"She’s a very depressed individual and is on medication," Brown said.

Cai is not related to the child, whose fourth birthday is on Nov. 12.

The dead child’s mother was in the apartment at the time.

Monster babysitter arraigned

From NY1:

A Queens man was arraigned Thursday on charges he intentionally poured scalding water on his girlfriend's 11-month-old daughter.

Anthony Parra, 20, is charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

The little girl is said to be in critical condition and on a ventilator.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown says Para left the baby in a running shower Wednesday morning because she was crying, and then turned up the temperature twice.

He also says Parra took hotter water from the kitchen sink and poured it on the baby. He also allegedly put cream and alcohol on the baby's burns before taking her to New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens.

She is said to have suffered severe burns to more than 30 percent of her body.

Parra was babysitting the little girl and her two-year-old sister while their mother was at work.

Schumer wants to track child beaters

From the Daily News:

Child beaters should be tracked just the way sex offenders are, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday.

"We have no comprehensive system to make sure that after they strike once, they never strike again," Schumer said, speaking outside state court buildings on Centre St. in downtown Manhattan.

Schumer called on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to implement a national tracking database of child beaters, similar to those that exist for sexual predators.

"It doesn't make any sense at all that while we try to watch sex offenders like hawks, we let child batterers, who physically batter children, slip through the cracks," he said.

A 2006 congressional act authorized the government to create such a database, but it has yet to be implemented.

Sounds like an interesting idea at first until you realize that they usually beat the shit out of their own kids, not kids they pick up at the mall. So I'm not sure what he has in mind.

Father of the Year lives in Ozone Park

NEW YORK (AP) - Prosecutors say a New York City man bit his infant daughter in the leg, head-butted her and would sometimes bend the girl's feet back until they touched her chest.

The 23-year-old Queens man was scheduled to make a court appearance on charges of first- and second-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child on Saturday. He faces up to 15 years in prison, if convicted on the charges.

Prosecutors said they wouldn't have information about his attorney until after the arraignment.

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said 13-week-old girl was taken last week to Schneider Children's Hospital with multiple injuries, including 17 fractured ribs.

Prosecutors allege that her dad assaulted her while baby-sitting.

Hey, Regina: Toddlers do that

Tot-scald bust
By WILLIAM J. GORTA, NY Post

A Queens mother burned her 3-year-old son in scalding water because the toddler soiled himself, authorities said yesterday.

Regina Owens, 30, of Rockaway Park, flipped out after Barkim Owens soiled his pull-ups, cursing him, stripping him naked and holding him in the tub of burning-hot water while he screamed in agony, Queens DA Richard Brown said.

The child suffered second-degree burns to his legs buttocks and genitals, the DA said. Owens was awaiting arraignment last night and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.