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05
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J.
HYNES ANNOUNCES THE ARREST OF JAMES GODWIN, FOR ATTEMPTING
TO HAVE SEX WITH A
13-YEAR-OLD GIRL HE MET IN AN ONLINE
CHAT ROOM
GODWIN IS A REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER,
BASED ON A PREVIOUS CONVICTION FOR POSSESSING CHILD
PORNOGRAPHY
Brooklyn, August 22, 2012 – Kings County District
Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the arrest of
James Godwin, 59, for using an Internet chat room to arrange
a date with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl,
but who was actually a Detective Investigator with the
Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
“It is my duty to see that sexual
predators and perverts who troll the internet looking to
exploit children will be brought to justice,” said District
Attorney Hynes. “Thankfully my Detective Investigators
stopped Godwin’s illicit plot.”
The defendant, a resident of Staten Island, is
charged with engaging in three sexually explicit chats with
the undercover detective, between January and today. In
those chats, Godwin, a registered sex offender, with a
previous conviction for possessing child pornography, is
charged with describing detailed sexual acts he wanted to
engage in with the undercover detective, whom he believed
was a 13-year-old girl. The defendant is charged with
arranging to meet the undercover, at an address in Brooklyn,
where he believed she lived. When he was arrested, by Kings
County Detective Investigators, he had a package of condoms,
which the charges indicate he told the undercover officer
that he would bring, when she told him she was afraid of
getting pregnant.
Godwin is charged with Attempted Rape in the Second
Degree, Attempted Criminal Sexual Act in the Second Degree,
and Three Counts of Attempted Disseminating Indecent
Material to Minors in the First Degree.
Defendants are presumed innocent, until they have
been proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Kevin O’Donnell.
Rhonnie Jaus is Chief of the Sex Crimes/Crimes Against
Children Division.
Contact:
Jonah Bruno
(718) 250-2300
04
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J.
HYNES ANNOUNCES THE GUILTY PLEA OF LEVI ARON FOR THE MURDER
AND KIDNAPPING OF EIGHT-YEAR-OLD LEIBY
KLETZKY
DEFENDANT ADMITTED HE KIDNAPPED AND
MURDERED THE BOY AND WILL BE SENTENCED TO 40 YEARS TO LIFE
IN PRISON
Brooklyn, August 9, 2012 – Kings County District
Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the guilty plea of
Levi Aron, 36, to Murder in the Second Degree and Kidnapping
in the Second degree.
He will receive a sentence of 40 years to life in
prison when he is sentenced on August 29, 2012.
“With this
guilty plea, I hope the process of healing and hopefully
closure can begin for the Kletzky family and community,”
said District Attorney Hynes.
“No one should ever forget what happened to Leiby
Kletzky but we can all take solace that Levi Aron will
never, ever be able to hurt anyone again.”
On July 11, 2011, Aron abducted Kletzky from the
vicinity of 18th Avenue and Dahill Road, in Brooklyn. Aron
then took the child to Aron’s apartment, at
466 East 2nd St., also in
Brooklyn, where Aron killed him.
The case is being handled by Counsel to the Homicide
Bureau Julie Rendelman and Unit Chief in the Sex
Crimes/Crimes Against Children Division Linda Weinman.
Kenneth Taub is Chief of the Homicide Bureau. Rhonnie Jaus
is Chief of the Sex Crimes/Crimes Against Children Division.
Contact: Mia
Goldberg
(718) 250-2300
03
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES THE INDICTMENT OF
ANTHONY MATTHEWS FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER, KIDNAPPING, TORTURING
AND BURNING HIS FORMER GIRLFRIEND FOR OVER A MONTH
Brooklyn, August 8, 2012 –Kings County District
Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced a 18-count
indictment against Anthony Matthews, 31, for kidnapping his
26-year old ex-girlfriend on June 29, 2012, keeping her
bound and captive for a month, during that time she was
relentlessly beaten all over her face and body, bound with
cables and wires,
burned with hot metal, and threatened with death at
gunpoint.
Matthews is indicted on Two Counts of
Kidnapping in the First Degree; Attempted Murder in the
Second Degree; Kidnapping in the Second Degree; Two Counts
of Assault in the First Degree; Assault in the Second
Degree; Unlawful Imprisonment in the First Degree; Unlawful
Imprisonment in the Second Degree; Assault in the Third
Degree and Eight Counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon
in the Fourth Degree.
If convicted on the top count the defendant faces
life in prison.
According to the indictment, on June 29, 2012 Matthews
took the victim from her father’s Peekskill home.
The defendant drove her to his cousin’s
Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment, where she was allegedly kept
captive for over a month.
The indictment alleges that during that time the defendant
shoved a gun in her mouth, breaking her teeth; used a
scalding-hot clothing iron to burn her legs and a
screwdriver heated over an open flame to burn her genitals;
beat her with wooden planks, including one with protruding
nails and that he kept her bound-up with extension cords,
electronic charger cords and other restraints.
According to the indictment, Matthews kept the victim
hostage until July 30, 2012, when he drove her to his
mother’s apartment in
Bedford-Stuyvesant, and left the victim on the doorstep.
The mother called 911.
The victim was taken to Woodhull Hospital.
Medical records
show the defendant sustained severe septic shock, having
lost more than half of the blood in her body.
In addition, she had spinal damage, a liver
laceration, fractured ribs, a fractured nose, numerous
burns, bruising, and swelling on her face and body.
The victim remains hospitalized.
An indictment is an accusatory
instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
The domestic violence case is being
prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Josh Charlton from the
Domestic Violence Bureau.
Wanda Lucibello is Chief of the Special Victims
Division in the Domestic Violence Bureau.
Deirdre Bialo-Padin is Chief of the Domestic Violence
Bureau.
Contact: Mia Goldberg
(718) 250-2300
02
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES SENTENCE OF FIVE TO 15 YEARS IN
DEATH OF 23-MONTH-OLD BOY
Brooklyn, August 3, 2012 –
Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes
today announced the sentencing of Julian Thomas, 28, to five
to 15 years for the death of his girlfriend’s 23-month-old
son, Ivory Belizario, Jr.
Thomas was convicted of Manslaughter in the Second
Degree on July 20.
Thomas was babysitting Belizario, Jr. on July 25,
2007 while the child’s mother, Ebony Vanderherst, was at
work. While in
Thomas’ custody, the child stopped breathing.
He was taken to Brookdale Hospital and placed on life
support where he remained until he was pronounced dead on
July 31, 2007.
An autopsy revealed that Belizario, Jr. died from
blunt force trauma to the head and torso, consistent with
being shaken and beaten.
The case was prosecuted by Jacqueline Kagan, First
Deputy Bureau Chief in the Crimes Against Children Bureau
and Perry Cerrato, Counsel to the Crimes Against Children
Bureau. Miss
Gregory is Chief of the Crimes Against Children Bureau.
Rhonnie Jaus is Chief of the Sex Crimes/Crimes
Against Children Division.
Contact:
Sandy Silverstein
(718) 250-2300
01
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES AND NYC
HUMAN RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONER ROBERT DOAR
ANNOUNCE INDICTMENT OF A TAX PREPARER WHO RECEIVED NEARLY
$99,000 IN NYC MEDICAID BENEFITS WHILE LIVING IN SUFFOLK
COUNTY
DEFENDANT OWNED
THREE PROPERTIES IN BROOKLYN, OWNED AND LIVED IN A HOME WITH
A POOL IN SUFFOLK COUNTY, DROVE LUXURY CARS AND RAN A
SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS.
Brooklyn, August 1, 2012 –
Kings County
District Attorney Charles J. Hynes and New York City Human
Resources Administration Commissioner Robert Doar today
announced the indictment of Jean-Claude Elizer, 46, for
fraudulently receiving Medicaid benefits for himself and his
three children, by lying about his income, residence and
assets from January 1, 2006 to July 25, 2012.
Charges against the
defendant include Welfare Fraud in the Second Degree, Grand
Larceny in the Second Degree, and Offering a False
Instrument for Filing in the First Degree. If convicted of
the top count, Mr. Elizer could face up to 15 years in
prison.
According to the
indictment, Mr. Elizer listed 623 East 85th Street in
Brooklyn as his residence on his HRA application and claimed
he was employed at Five Star Income Tax Corp. at 1722
Flatbush Avenue, a tax preparation business where he made
$350-$405 per week. The defendant said he owned no property
or other assets.
Property records
listed Mr. Elizer as the owner of both the Flatbush location
and the 85th Street location, as well as of a
third Brooklyn building at 428 E. 53rd Street.
The indictment alleges that the defendant received
rental income on all three properties, ranging from
$15,000-$30,000 a year.
Business records show he is the owner Five Star
Income Tax, Corp. which consistently brought in over
$100,000 yearly.
“This defendant
pretended to be a Brooklyn resident in order to steal from
those individuals truly in need of the help and services
that the city’s Human Resources Administration provide,”
said District Attorney Hynes.
“He and others like him cannot hide from justice.
No matter where they live, we will find them and
prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.
I would like to thank Commissioner Doar and HRA for
their assistance in this investigation.”
According to the
indictment, property records show that in 2007 he purchased
a home at 7 Miranda Drive in Suffolk County with his wife
for over $540,000, where he lives with his three children.
Bank records show he had multiple personal and
business bank accounts.
In 2011, he made out checks totaling $14,000 to a
Suffolk County landscaper.
In addition, DMV records show Elizer currently owns a
2010 Mercedes Benz C Class sedan and a 2007 Chevrolet
Corvette convertible.
“To be eligible for
New York City public assistance programs, an applicant must
live in New York City. Those who intentionally provide false
information on their residency in an official application
are committing fraud and should be forewarned that their
actions will not be tolerated. I would like to thank
Brooklyn District Attorney Hynes for his continuous
commitment to pursue the prosecution of those who commit
Medicaid fraud,” said HRA Commissioner Robert Doar.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not
proof of a defendant’s guilt.
The investigation
was conducted by Investigator Syeda Islam of the New York
City Human Resources Administration, and Detective
Investigators Kevin McAleese, Cindy Fernandez, Michael
Sidlowski, Clyde Augustine and Efrain Alvarado of the Kings
County District Attorney’s Office. Investigative assistance
was also provided by Ilya Schwartzburg, a summer legal
intern from New York University School of Law.
The case is being
prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Sabrina Thanse of the
Public Assistance Crimes Unit. Lauren Mack is the Chief of
the Public Assistance Crimes Unit.
Contact:
Mia Goldberg
(718) 250-2300
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