Soundview Child Rapist Captured in New Orleans after Multi-State Manhunt

  Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo, member of the Assembly Standing Committee on Cities, released the following statement on the successful manhunt and capture of the Soundview child rapist.

“The terrible news that a child, once again, had been a victim of a horrendous crime stunned New York City when it was reported. The crime involved the rape of the seven-year old child in Soundview, Bronx.

The depraved perpetrator of this case of child sexual abuse fled from New York and a diligent manhunt by law enforcement agencies has led to his capture in New Orleans, Louisiana.  I commend the New York City Police Department and other law enforcement agencies involved in finding this child abuser and bringing him to justice.

It is my hope that our court system will use its full authority and sentence this derived individual to the maximum sentence allowed by law.

Unfortunately, cases of child abuse are too common in our nation, our State and our city.  According to groups working to prevent child abuse and neglect, from 1990 to 2010, substantiated cases of sexual abuse dropped from 23 per 10,000 children under 18 to 8.6 per 10,000 sexual abuses by an adult who was not a family member from 1992 to 2010. The majority of sexual abuse cases involve family members or acquaintances rather than strangers, studies have found.

I am thankful that to the hard work of our law enforcement agencies because their diligent work will send a clear message that if a crime against a child is committed, law enforcement will find you and bring you to justice.

Child abuse and neglect is an issue that needs more attention because the incidents of abuse show our children are being victimized in their own homes.

In New York State in 2010, 114 children died as a result of abuse or neglect, a fatality rate of 2.58 per 100,000 children, according to Child Maltreatment 2010. This is a 4.4 percent increase from 109 fatalities that occurred in 2009.

In 2010, child sexual abuse comprised 3.5% of the 79,668 cases of substantiated investigations into child abuse and neglect in New York State.

Child neglect continues to comprise the largest portion of cases of child maltreatment. According to the federal report Child Maltreatment 2010, figures for the country and for New York State are as follows:

	United States	New York State
Neglect	78.3%	66.6%
Physical Abuse	17.6%	11.4%
Sexual Abuse	9.2%	3.5%
Psychological Maltreatment	8.1%	.9%
Medical Neglect	2.4%	5.7%
Other	10.3%	32.0%

In 2010, according to the NYS Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (the Child Abuse Reporting Hotline) — 170,224 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect, involving 223,340 children were received.”

 

 

Assemblyman Marcos Crespo selected as CHAIR FOR NEW AMERICANS TASK FORCE

 

At Critical Time in National Immigration Reform Efforts, Assemblyman Crespo to Lead Task Force on New American

    Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo, the new Chair of the Assembly Task Force on New Americans, today released the following statement on his new leadership appointment.

“Today, I am most grateful to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for the trust he has placed in me through my appointment to the lead the Assembly Task Force on New Americans.  Through a period that covers my entire adult life, it has been under the leadership of Speaker Silver that New York has moved toward policies that both respect the contributions of our immigrant residents and ease their transition into a new society.

I am the son of Puerto Rican and Peruvian parents; one an American citizen by birth the other through immigration and naturalization.  Their hardships and hard work has allowed me with the opportunity to serve our State and nation as an elected official.  The values they instilled in me are the cornerstone of my work as a public official for the people of New York State.

It is with humbleness and eagerness that I accept my post as Chairman of the Task Force on New Americans.  Our nation is in the midst of long overdue immigration reform.  The past decade has witnessed perhaps the most anti-immigrant epoch in American history: Thousands of families torn apart, wholesale civil rights violations, and systematic attempts to stigmatize entire communities.

There are over 170 nationalities represented in communities all across our State. Slightly over 40% of the population of New York City are immigrants. It was the growth of our immigrant communities over the past decade that prevented New York State from losing more seats in Congress after the 2010 Census and reapportionment process.

Today, immigration reform, national health care policy and regional workforce issues are factors that will shape the lives of our immigrant residents.  I look forward to working on these issues to help ensure that New York keeps avenues of success and opportunity open for all our immigrant communities.

I am a beneficiary of the American people's generosity, and I hope we can have comprehensive immigration reform that moves away from stigmas and dangerous rhetoric while allowing this great country to continue to be enriched by those who were not born here.”

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CRESPO: Budget Good but Not Good Enough!

Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo’s votes no on budget bill that fails to provide an indexed minimum wage increase and establishes the NYS Dream Act

ALBANY, NEW YORK – (03/28/2013)  ---  Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo, today, voted no on part of the $136 billion 2013-2014 State Budget because major issues impacting his community where omitted and in other cases are inadequate to addressing the growing rates of poverty in the Bronx and New York State.

According to Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo, member of the Assembly Standing Committee on Cities, “I want to make it clear that the Assembly, under the leadership of Speaker Sheldon Silver, has managed to turn back attempts to reduce State funding for our hospitals, schools, colleges and vital community services.  Yet Assembly efforts to shape a budget that meets the needs of all New Yorkers was derailed by the Senate Republicans and the Governor.”

“Specifically I am referring to the failure to immediately raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation and the failure to embrace the intellectual capital of undocumented immigrant children by enacting the Dream Act,” declared Crespo.

Crespo added, “I can not vote yes on a budget that places public relations gimmicks over the basic needs of my constituents and their families and children.  Passing an on-time budget with tax refunds for those making up to $300,000 per year while making a single mother wait three years for a $1.75 increase in her hourly wage is unacceptable.”

“There are defining moments in our lives that measure our values. If we can find millions to subsidize the business operations of multi-millionaires, then we can find the courage to secure State support for children and communities that have long been marginalized,” stated Crespo. “This is such a defining moment for me and my vote will reflect my convictions.”