Samuel S. Aster, a 60 year old music teacher giving private piano lessons in his home was accused of molesting 7 girls ranging from 8-13 years of age. He hung himself in his home on November 3rd, 1999. When investigating his home detectives found some of these incidents on videotape.
Over the past two months, as many as eight girls have been sexually assaulted while walking to school. Youngsters are being warned by police to travel in groups. Two sisters were attacked by a man with a nightstick on Wednesday while walking to school. He raped the 16-year-old and robbed her 15-year-old sister. Another girl walking along was attacked on Monday. Not all attacks have been rapes. On Thursday, three girls reported that men tried to abduct them on their way to school. These incidences were separate. According to Newsday,
Edward R. Kotwica, 51 and the father of two teen-age sons, committed suicide when he was struck and killed by a commuter train two blocks from his home on Wednesday morning. He was arrested about nine hours earlier on charges that he touched the breasts of a member of the girls’ basketball team several times in Garfield High School since 1996.
James Maxwell, 49, is charged with coercing a 10 year old girl to participate in phone sex. Elaborately chronicled and illustrated fantasies about his friends’ children were found in his house. According to the New York Times, he was not accused of having any physical contact with the girl but was charged with aggravated sexual assault. He was in the Passaic County jail in lieu of $200,000 bail.
Governor George Pataki signed a law that increases the number of criminal offenses under which convicts will have to submit samples of their genetic code to 107 from 21. The expanded database includes kidnappers, burglars, arsonists and drug dealers. This will give law enforcement more power to convict criminals and to exonerate the innocent. Other offenses now included are: gang assault,
attempted murder, sodomy, intimidating a witness and criminal use of a firearm.
Jonathan Panepinto, 30, pleaded guilty to charges of six counts of sodomy and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. The former Brentwood elementary school special education aide was sentenced to three months in jail and five years probation for having sex with a 14 year old New Jersey boy he met online. He was also ordered to undergo sex offender treatment and to register with the state as a sex offender.