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05
04
 DA
HYNES ADDRESS WORKSHOP AT ST. FRANCIS COLLEGE ON CHILD
SEXUAL ABUSE THROUGH ARTWORK
Brooklyn, November 25, 2008
- Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes
yesterday addressed a workshop held at St. Francis College
on child sexual abuse. He urged the audience to work more
effectively with child abuse victims.
“This moving and thought
provoking workshop provides a new perspective to committed
professionals and enhances all of our understanding of what
sex abuse does to children and families,” said DA Hynes.
The workshop, which utilized
art, photography and writing by two victims was designed to
demonstrate to professionals the perspective of two former
child sexual abuse victims. The purpose of the workshop is
for professionals to get a better sense of what it is like
for victims, so they can better serve victims in the
future.
The workshop used the artwork
of two brothers, who were sodomized by an adult male family
friend and who both later committed suicide.
The workshop also aimed to
provide training, awareness and education on the dynamics of
sexual abuse victims, their families and the predators.
DA Hynes said the
heartbreaking story told through the artwork of child victim
of sexual abuse provided a “multidimensional exploration” of
the victims’ personal stories with their personal insights
into the nature of the crimes.
District Attorney Hynes said
he was confident this understanding will result in a better
interaction between workshop participants and the victims
and families they serve.
Details of the artwork
illustrate the shame, helplessness and fear that a child
experiences far more indelibly and effectively than what any
words could capture, said DA Hynes.
“The best way to prevent
child sexual abuse,” according to DA Hynes, “is to
acknowledge that perpetrators of this crime can look and act
like everyone else.”
Victims often do not
exhibit symptoms, and a majority of sexual abuse is
committed by a family member or another adult in a position
of trust with the family.
“Prevention is best
accomplished by being aware of the facts of child abuse, and
to be willing to accept that someone in the immediate circle
of the family is capable of committing this horrific crime,”
said DA Hynes.
The DA stressed that
educational programs such as this is key to protecting
children.
DA Hynes said the
workshop, titled, “Illuminations,” was designed to motivate
everyone to think outside of the box to incorporate creative
approaches when challenged with meeting the individual needs
of child victims.
The workshop was
co-sponsored by the Office of the District Attorney and
Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens.
Contact: J. Zamgba Browne
(718) 250-3850
03
KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES
INDICTMENTS IN
THEFT OF CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY
Brooklyn, November 19, 2008
– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the indictment of four men involved in the theft
of heavy-duty construction machinery, which they sold
locally and overseas. The indictment is the result of a
joint investigation conducted by the New York City Police
Department and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
Defendants Guy Losito, 39; Petre Vanau, 46;
Jacques Guillet, 74; and Gustavo Badolati, 36, are all
charged with Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree, Attempted Grand
Larceny in the Third Degree, and Attempted Criminal
Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree. Losito
and Guillet are also charged with Grand Larceny in the Third
Degree and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the
Third Degree.
The indictment charges that Losito, a sales
manager at Bobcat of New York, in Maspeth, Queens, used his
knowledge of heavy-duty machinery sales and rentals to
target certain items for theft, in the New York Metropolitan
area. He is charged with recruiting people to steal the
machines he had identified, which were then stored at
storage facilities operated by Guillet and/or Vanau. At the
storage facility, the defendants altered or concealed the
identities of the stolen machinery, by removing the
“identification plates” and replacing them with new,
manufacturer-supplied plates, according to the indictment.
Vanau and Badolati are charged with knowingly
purchasing the stolen equipment, which Badolati would use
locally and Vanau resold to customers in Romania.
Two machines the defendants are charged with
stealing were provided for use in a “sting operation” by
Bobcat of New York. These machines were fitted with GPS
devices and placed in vulnerable locations. The GPS devices
which were monitored by NYPD provided “real time” data
concerning the movements of each machine. Once Losito
became aware of the machines he supervised their theft.
These machines, a Bobcat 835H and a Bobcat S250, were
compact skid steer front end loaders, popular in the
construction and landscaping industries.
Losito directed his “steal man” to take the 853H
to Vanau’s storage yard in Queens and the S250 to Guillet’s
storage yard in Brooklyn. The 853H was eventually recovered
in the backyard of a residence in Queens, where Vanau had
apparently tried to conceal it. The S250 was sold to
Badolati, who used it on a construction site in Queens,
where it was recovered. During a search of Guillet’s storage
facility, in connection with this investigation, two
additional stolen items were recovered: a full-size
Caterpillar 420, stolen from a construction site in January
2007; and a Bobcat 753, stolen from a horticultural business
in 1994.
The NYPD Auto Crimes Unit of the Organized Crime
Control Bureau investigated the case, assisted by the
National Insurance Crime Bureau.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior
Investigative Attorney Nicholas J. Batsidis and Rackets
Division Executive Assistant District Attorney Christopher
Blank. Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Division.
Contact: Jonah
Bruno
718-250-2300
02
KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES
SENTENCING OF NIXZALIZ SANTIAGO FOR THE MURDER OF HER
SEVEN-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER NIXZMARY BROWN
Brooklyn, November 12, 2008
– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the sentencing of Nixzaliz Santiago, 30, for the
murder of her seven-year-old daughter, Nixzmary Brown.
Justice Patricia DiMango ordered a sentence of 40 1/3 to 43
years in prison for Santiago.
She was convicted on October
17 of Manslaughter in the First Degree, Two Counts of
Assault in the Second Degree, Unlawful Imprisonment in the
First Degree and Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
Nixzmary Brown’s stepfather
Cesar Rodriguez was convicted of Manslaughter in the First
Degree in March. He received 25 years for that and a
consecutive one-and-a-third to four years for Unlawful
Imprisonment in the First Degree.
Nixzmary was found dead
January 11, 2006, in her mother and stepfather’s
Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment from child abuse syndrome and
blunt-impact trauma resulting in brain injuries. Nixzmary’s
body showed signs of long-term abuse, with ligature marks on
her ankles – where she was frequently tied with rope and
bungee chords – and wounds all over her body in various
stages of healing.
Ama Dwimoh, Chief of the Crimes Against Children
Bureau, First Deputy Chief of the Appeals Bureau Anthea
Bruffee, Crimes Against Children Bureau Unit Chief Linda
Weinman prosecuted the case
Contact: Sandy
Silverstein
718-250-2300
01
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES
CHARGES AGAINST SUSPECT IN STRING OF BAY RIDGE BURGLARIES
NEW
YORK STATE SENATOR MARTIN GOLDEN JOINS DA HYNES IN
CONDEMNING THE BURGLARIES AND RECOGNIZING THE NYPD’S
INVESTIGATIVE WORK
Brooklyn, November 7, 2008
– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes announces
the arraignment of Rami Abuziyad, 26, charged with
committing eight Bay Ridge home break-ins in the past month.
He was arraigned today, and bail was set at $200,000.
“Residents of Bay Ridge can
rest easy, now that this serial burglar has been caught,”
said DA Hynes. “He will be prosecuted to the fullest extent
of the law. I’d like to thank the NYPD for their hard work
on this investigation.”
New
York State Senator Marty Golden (R-Bay Ridge), who recently
hosted a town hall meeting on the recent burglaries in Bay
Ridge stated, “I commend the brave men and women of the 68th
Precinct and Deputy Inspector Eric Rodriguez for their
diligence and work to insure that that this burglar was
brought to justice. The recent rash of burglaries was
causing alarm and fear throughout the Bay Ridge and Dyker
Heights communities and nothing is worse than to have your
home broken in and things that you have worked so hard taken
from you. I know that District Attorney Charles Hynes will
prosecute to the fullest and seek the maximum jail time so
that this individual will not be out on our streets for a
very long time. We will not tolerate such behavior in our
neighborhood. We will not allow our community to be overrun
by criminals.”
Abuziyad was arrested
Wednesday and charged with the burglaries, which began in
late September. After his arrest, police executed a search
warrant on his home and found numerous stolen items,
including laptop computers, jewelry, digital cameras, cell
phones, binoculars, an mp3 player, cash and computer
accessories.
Abuziyad
is charged with multiple counts of Burglary in the Second
Degree, Burglary in the Third Degree, Possession of Stolen
Property and Trespassing. He is also charged with two counts
of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree for
two guns – a
.44-caliber revolver and a .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol
– found at his home.
His wife Amel Abdulhassan,
26, was charged with multiple Counts of Criminal Possession
of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree and Criminal
Possession of Stolen Property in the Fifth Degree, and Two
Counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth
Degree.
The
case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney
Myles McKenna. Executive Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey
Levitt is Chief of the Blue Zone.
Contact: Jonah
Bruno
718-250-2300
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