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Articles Posted in Sexual Abuse

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Rikers_Island Aerial ViewAs adult sexual abuse attorneys deeply committed to seeking justice for survivors, we find ourselves compelled to address the disturbing revelations unearthed by a recent investigation into Rikers Island. The report, brought to light by Gothamist, exposes a distressing pattern of alleged misconduct and sexual assault within the walls of this troubled jail complex. The ramifications of these allegations are profound, prompting a vital dialogue among New York state lawmakers, city officials, and advocacy groups about the urgent need for legislative action and accountability.

The cornerstone of this discussion lies in the proposed reopening of a legal window that would afford sexual abuse survivors additional time to file claims. The Adult Survivors Act, which opened a one-year window for victims to seek civil recourse outside the statute of limitations, closed in November. However, with the emergence of these distressing allegations, lawmakers, including Assembly member Linda Rosenthal and Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, are rightfully advocating for the reinstatement of this crucial provision. Such a measure would not only provide a lifeline for survivors who were unable to come forward within the previous timeframe but also signify a commitment to confronting systemic issues within our correctional system.

Councilmember Sandy Nurse’s call for oversight hearings represents a pivotal step towards accountability. By scrutinizing the systemic failures that have allowed sexual abuse to fester within Rikers Island, we can begin to unravel the layers of negligence and complicity that have perpetuated this cycle of harm. It is imperative that city officials, including Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Correction Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, take decisive action to address these deeply entrenched issues and devise comprehensive strategies for reform.

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sexual abuser Zhi Alan ChengNew York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital  is grappling with a disturbing case of sexual abuse by one of its former doctors. Zhi Alan Cheng, a 33-year-old emerging gastroenterologist, has been charged with 50 new counts of heinous crimes, including rape, sexual abuse, assault, misdemeanor drug possession, and unlawful surveillance.

The allegations against him underscore the importance of legal advocacy for survivors of sexual abuse and the urgent need to address the systemic failures that enable such atrocities to occur.

Zhi Alan Cheng’s case reveals a chilling pattern of abuse, marked by methodical cruelty and an alarming disregard for human decency

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New York Presbyterian Queens covered up sexual abuse As doctor sexual abuse attorneys in the heart of New York City, we are committed to fighting for the rights of survivors and seeking justice against those people who have caused harm and those institutions, hospitals, schools and religious entities that facilitated the harm. Today, we bring to your attention a deeply disturbing case involving Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng, a physician at a major New York City hospital, who has been accused of perpetrating heinous sexual abuse against multiple victims in the hospital.

Dr. Cheng was arrested in December 2022 and has been charged with first-degree rape after allegedly drugging and raping women in the hospital and his own apartment. Incredibly, while Dr. Cheng awaits trial on Rikers Island, another victim has recently come forward accusing Dr. Cheng of sexual assault in 2021 at New York Presbyterian Hospital Queens where he was employed as a physician. The hospital faces accusations of covering up this abhorrent crime, failing to report it to the authorities, and neglecting to take appropriate disciplinary measures against Dr. Cheng.

Seeking Justice for Sexual Abuse Survivors

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Evelyn_Yang was sexually abused by HaddenA NYC  gynecologist has been sexually abusing patients for over two decades including Evelyn Yang, the wife of New York politician Andrew Yang, was convicted of sex trafficking yesterday.

64 year old Robert Hadden, a former Columbia University gynecologist was convicted of federal sex crimes yesterday after a two-week trial. The gynecologist who sexually abused patients while working at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital sexually abused patients from 1993 to 2012. He was previously convicted of sexual abuse after being accused by 19 patients but had been able to avoid jail time by signing a state-court plea agreement. The plea agreement infuriated hundreds of women who had been abused by the doctor.

Yesterday  Robert Hadden was charged with sex trafficking after four patients complained the doctor induced them to cross State lines for what they thought were medical examinations during which the doctor assaulted them. The doctor enticed his patients to travel to New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Nevada to engage in illegal sexual activity.  Robert Hadden’s sentencing is scheduled for April 25th. Despite some victims asking for the abuser to remain in jail, Judge Berman allowed Hadden to remain free for now.  He said Hadden was not a flight risk and was the caretaker for his son who suffers from cerebral palsy and autism as well as his wife who has diabetes and neuropathy.

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FBI child sexual abuser picture30 year old Brian Quinones, a  paraprofessional at Midwood High School in Brooklyn, NYC, has been arrested last week for cyberstalking, distribution of child phonography and sexually exploiting a minor. Quinones was working in a one-and-one capacity with special need students.

Quinones preyed on his victims on the internet. He would pose as a woman to lure minor boys into sending him explicit content videos. He would then black mail his victims and threaten to put the video on the internet if they were not sending him more content.

After it was found that between 2019 and 2020, Quinones had been exchanging more than 100 files containing child phonography material with another individual who was also charged with child phonography offenses, the FBI was allowed by the court to search the apartment of  Quinones and sized his electronic equipment. They  recovered explicit WhatsApp messages between Quinones and a boy who was 15 year old. Quinones was pretending to be a woman and was threatening the young victim to ruin his life if he was not sending him more explicit content. When the boy refused Quinones replied “I’m ready to make u famous[.] Any last words?”.

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New York Public School 70 where child sexual abuse took placeA teacher at a NYC public school allegedly sexually abused a 10 year old student and forcibly touched her. He also showed naked adult female pictures to 3 others.

48 year old Norman Dunkley has been teaching science for more than 23 years at Public School 70 in Claremont Village.  An investigation was started after 4 students, all 10 year old, complained about the teacher’s inappropriate behavior. One of the girls  reported that the teacher touched her breast and the 3 others complained that the teacher showed them nude pictures of adult women and told them they were “his babies”.

The teacher was arrested on wednesday and in a criminal complaint that was made public Thursday, he was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, harassment, forcible touching and sexual abuse.  This is the first criminal complaint against him and  probably not the last one as the investigation is ongoing.

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KIPP scholl where the sexual abused occurredA teacher at KIPP NYC who allegedly groomed and sexually abused a female student for years was recently arrested and the school’s principal was fired for not proprely handling the matter.

39 year old Cesar Sanchez, a science teacher at KIPP Washington Heights Middle School, started to make lewd and sexually suggestive comments to the victim when she was in fourth grade and became more and more aggressive in his behavior. By the time the girl was in seventh grade, he was groping her.  The abuse stopped when the class was remote during the covid19 lockdown and started again when students started to attend school in person again. According to the complaint, Sanchez touched the student’s breast and pushed his crotch against her. The abuse was discovered after another female student complained to her parents that Sanchez blurred student-teacher boundaries by asking her to be friends on Instagram which made her uncomfortable. The parents reached out to school officials and during a conversation with them the girl told them that she had heard Sanchez had been behaving inappropriately with another girl.

Sanchez was considered an excellent teacher and was the recipient of the 2018 New York Family “Blackboard Award”. He is married to another KIPP school principal and has two children.  He was arrested and arraigned on December 23rd and charged with sexual conduct against a child and endangering child welfare.

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A New York City assistant principal planned a sexual encounter with a 14 year old boy on Grindr and instead found himself facing an adult who filmed the encounter and uploaded it on Youtube. Earlier this year, 40 year old Claudio Garcia who works at Queens Technical High School in Long Island City as an assistant principal, was on Grindr and starting to chat with a boy who told him first that he was 18 but then said he was actually 14. Garcia then planned a meeting with him in a park that was supposedly near the boy’s Bronx house. When he arrived at the meeting, an adult man was there. The encounter was filmed and posted on YouTube.

The Police recently arrested Garcia and brought him to the 52nd Precinct to be questioned. He was then charged with attempted criminal sex act and disseminating indecent materials to minors.

Garcia was arraigned yesterday night in Bronx criminal court. While the DA consented to release Garcia without bail, Judge Audrey Stone ordered Garcia to be on supervised release. “Given the nature of Mr. Garcia’s status within the community and the very serious charges here, I believe supervised release at a minimum would be appropriate,” the judge said. “Mr. Garcia, I want to explain to you that I understand that the D.A.’s office is requesting release without any conditions, however, these are very significant changes.”

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Professor Daniel PollackWhen considering a civil lawsuit for sexual abuse, it is important for a victim or for the victim’s parents (if the victim is still a minor) to consider beforehand if the lawsuit will have have a net beneficial therapeutic effect or a traumatizing effect.

In a recent commentary in the New York Law Journal, Daniel Pollack a professor at Yeshiva University’s School of Social Work in New York City and  a Commissioner of Game Over, a commission to protect youth athletes, and Daniel F. Monahan, a board-certified trial attorney in Pennsylvania write about the unexpected emotional consequences that a sexual abuse lawsuit can have on the victim.

A traumatizing experience for the victim and the family

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sexual abuser Rigoberto GarciaThe FBI believes that dozens of underage girls have been sexually exploited by a man who lured them into filming sex acts in hotels by promising them modeling gigs. 33 year old Rigoberto Garcia, a Mexican man living illegally in the US has been recently arrested after the FBI found that he has been sexually exploiting girls under the age of 18 by  filming them having sex in hotel rooms since 2014. The FBI says dozen of  girls or more have been  abused and they are asking anyone who might have been victimized to call them at 212-384-1000.

Rigoberto Garcia, a wannabe actor, has been using several fake names that include “Chris Perez”, Nate Floriano”, “Sean Alvarez”, “Steven Skyler” or “David Schineberg”.

According to a federal court indictment, Garcia was was charged with multiple counts of coercion and enticement, and sexual exploitation of a minor in connection with seven underage victims. He is also facing charges with 4 other child victims.