Shelter sicko
Aide to homeless fam molests boy, 10: cops
A CASEWORKER at a Bronx homeless shelter faces sex abuse charges after befriending a family and molesting their 10-year-old son, authorities said Thursday.
Amin Laboriel, 37, was apprehended last month in Miami as he tried to flee the country, prosecutors said. He had a one-way ticket to Honduras on him when he was put in handcuffs.
Prosecutors said he met his victim’s mother at his job at the Bridge Haven Family Transitional Residence on W. 169th St. in Highbridge and quickly gained the family’s trust.
On June 2, he offered to take her 10-year-old son to his Jackson Heights, Queens, home for a night.
During the sleepover, Laboriel sexually abused and sodomized the child, prosecutors said. He also allegedly forced the child to perform a sex act on him. Police were alerted to the crime a few weeks later — just as Laboriel was about to fly out of Miami Airport.
After being extradited from Florida, cops arrested Laboriel July 7 on sex abuse and child endangerment charges. A Queens Criminal Court judge ordered him held on $100,000 bail.
He faces 25 years in prison if convicted.
“(He) is accused of using his position as a caseworker at a homeless shelter to garner the trust and confidence of a family ,” Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement Thursday. “Despite the defendant’s alleged efforts to escape justice, he was apprehended and will now stand accountable for his alleged crimes.”
This is Laboriel’s second arrest, according to court records. In November 2015, he was charged with forcible touching, although details on the case are sealed.
Laboriel’s attorney, Ken Finkelman of the Legal Aid Society, said his client was not fleeing the country — just visiting a sick parent.
“There’s no forensic evidence that supports what the child has claimed,” Finkelman said, calling Laboriel “a person who has never had a problem with the police before.”
The child’s mother is reportedly being forced out of the shelter, and has a grudge against administrators, the attorney said.
“She is angry and is suing the shelter,” Finkelman said. “We haven’t seen any compelling evidence that he is guilty. Just because you are visiting an ailing parent doesn’t mean you are fleeing the country.”
Tino Hernandez, president of Samaritan Daytop Village, which manages the shelter, said Laboriel was fired as the organization learned of the allegations.
“We will take all steps necessary to ensure the safety of all who rely on us in times of need,” Hernandez said. “Samaritan rejects the alleged reprehensible actions of one individual and we remain focused on the essential work of serving thousands of New Yorkers through our programs.”
Residents of the shelter agreed with Finkelman, calling Laboriel a friendly, helpful and perky employee.
“That’s bull----,” Orlando Depasquale, 47, said of the charges against Laboriel. Depasquale said he has been living at the shelter for a year and a half. “He’s a good guy. To me, he was the nicest guy I ever met at this place.”