News From DARCEL D. CLARK DISTRICT ATTORNEY, BRONX COUNTY

NYC DOC OFFICER, 3 INMATES AND TWO OTHERS INDICTED FOR SMUGGLING MARIJUANA INTO RIKERS ISLAND

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark G. Peters today announced that a New York City Department of Correction officer, three inmates and two other individuals have been indicted for smuggling marijuana into a Rikers Island jail. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “This officer allegedly betrayed his fellow officers, as well as fostered the criminal network inside and outside of Rikers Island that runs on contraband. Smuggling marijuana or any other item that fuels corruption and violence in jail is a serious crime, no matter who does it. We will continue to work with DOI, DOC, the NYPD and other law enforcement partners to improve safety in the jails. ” 

 District Attorney Clark said Correction Officer Pedro Santiago, 26, is charged with third degree Bribe Receiving, second-degree Promoting Prison Contraband, Official Misconduct, fifth degree Criminal Possession of Marijuana, unlawful Possession of Marijuana and fifth and sixth degree Conspiracy. He was arraigned today and is due back in court on December 6, 2018.

 The other defendants were arraigned earlier this month, and they are charged with third degree Bribery, second-degree Promoting Prison Contraband, and fifth and sixth-degree Conspiracy. The defendants are identified as former inmates Joshua Rodriguez, 27, of Brooklyn; Kelvin Dalrymple, 26, of Queens and Ricardo Brown, 29, of Queens; and Andrew Rivera, 25, of Brooklyn; and Meisha Nelson, 27, of Mount Vernon, NY. 

 According to the investigation, Santiago allegedly accepted between $500 and $800 in exchange for bringing an ounce or more of marijuana into the Anna M. Kross Center on each of three occasions in June and July 2017. The inmate defendants allegedly had instructed defendants Rivera and Nelson to deliver cash and marijuana to Santiago. He then brought the marijuana into the facility.

 An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.

BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN STATE PRISON FOR RAPE, KIDNAPPING INVOLVING 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL HE SOLD FOR SEX

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 15 years post-release supervision for rape and kidnapping involving a 14-year-old girl whom he sold to men for sex. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “The sentence of this predator was handed down yesterday, the same day that a new state law was enacted making Sex Trafficking of a Child a B Violent Felony Offense. Under the new law, a person is guilty if he or she advances or profits from prostitution of a person less than 18 years old, without the requirement that the defendant use force, fraud or coercion. Had this law been in effect, this defendant could have been additionally charged with Sex Trafficking of a Child, and could have faced more time in prison on a consecutive sentence.” 

 District Attorney Clark said Jermel Rosario, 43, of 2541 Aqueduct Avenue, was sentenced on August 15, 2018 by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett to 10 years in state prison and 15 years post-release supervision, and he must register as a sex offender. A full final order of protection was issued. Rosario pleaded guilty on April 24, 2018 to second-degree Kidnapping and second-degree Rape.

 According to the investigation, the 14-year-old victim ran away from home, and was introduced to the defendant in June, 2015. She stayed with him, his wife, and their children for several months, during which time the defendant induced her to have sex with men who paid the defendant. Rosario also had sex with the victim on more than one occasion. He called the victim one of his “Cupcake Mafia.” The defendant also tied the victim up, raped her and held her in the apartment after he accused her of stealing property.

  District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detectives Anayansi Parris and Adrian Campos of the Vice Major Case Human Trafficking Unit; Grace Oboma-Layat, the victim’s attorney with the Legal Aid Society Juvenile Rights Practice; and Kathryn Kaplan, the victim’s social worker with the Legal Aid Society Juvenile Rights Practice.