Long Island, NY: It is every parent's worst nightmare. A stranger approaches and lures their young child away.
Just the thought of it will drive every normal parent into a mental frenzy. The parents' feelings are immediate, intense, and unlike any other horror already in existence.
That’s exactly what happened to a young woman from Long Island.
Carlos Corte, 38, was in a laundromat in Long Island along with a mother and her 4-year-old daughter. As the mother continued her laundry, Corte was seen on security footage toward the rear of the laundromat, chatting up the child.
After some time, the mother noticed the toddler’s absence and began looking for her throughout the laundromat. Once she determined her child was missing, she alerted the business owner in a panic.
They reviewed the camera footage and saw Corte talking to the young child for several minutes before walking out of the back of the laundromat.
The mother searched the entire area until she found her daughter in the local library's play area down the block.
The police later identified and arrested Corte, who already had an active warrant, and charged him with second-degree kidnapping. It was reported that Corte told the police he “made a mistake when I took that child from here.”
“Your honor, my client has had zero interaction with law enforcement. We’re asking for a release on his own recognizance. He thought the girl lived alone without parents,” public defender Alexandra Dyroff said in court. “He took her to the library and told an employee there as such but there was a language barrier. It seems to be a mistake.”
“The mom ran out and actually caught him at the library. The cops were called, when they got there [Corte] told police ‘she didn’t have parents,’” the laundromat owner told the media. He added, “This could have happened anywhere. He was talking to her inside the store, the mom was wandering around for 20 minutes while he was talking to her in the back. This could have happened anywhere. This could have happened at Disneyland. You got to watch your kids, you can’t leave her alone for 20 minutes!”
The Suffolk County District Attorney, Ray Tierney, argued for a $150,000 cash bail, $300,000 bond or a $1.5 million partially secured bond. But got none of them.
“I think given the facts of this case … given the fact that he already has a bench warrant out and it’s alleged that he removed, he kidnapped this child from away from their mother … based on all those factors, that’s why we asked for such a high bail,” he said.
He added, “He took a 4-year-old girl from King Laundry where she had been with her mother doing laundry. The defendant made an oral admission, quote, ‘I made a mistake when I took the girl.'”
Judge James F. Leonick decided to cut Corte loose anyway on supervised release with a GPS monitor.
Tierney feels it was the wrong decision.
“We respectfully disagree with it [the outcome]. I think if you look at the facts of the case, clearly they’re concerning,” Tierney told the media. “Also, you have a situation where there was already a bench warrant issued. This person has tenuous ties to the jurisdiction. So this is just another situation where it appears as though, you know, we’re gonna have to act and act quickly to protect the community.”
Tierney also challenged the defense attorney’s logic.
”So there’s a lost child, and you believe a child is lost, and then you take that child to another place, and then you just leave that child there, isn’t that worse? Again, these are allegations,” he said.
Corte is due back in court later this week.
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Writer Eddie Molina is a veteran and has over 25 years of combined LEO/military service. He owns and operates the LEO apparel and accessory company www.BuyHeroStuff.com
Just the thought of it will drive every normal parent into a mental frenzy. The parents' feelings are immediate, intense, and unlike any other horror already in existence.
That’s exactly what happened to a young woman from Long Island.
Carlos Corte, 38, was in a laundromat in Long Island along with a mother and her 4-year-old daughter. As the mother continued her laundry, Corte was seen on security footage toward the rear of the laundromat, chatting up the child.
After some time, the mother noticed the toddler’s absence and began looking for her throughout the laundromat. Once she determined her child was missing, she alerted the business owner in a panic.
They reviewed the camera footage and saw Corte talking to the young child for several minutes before walking out of the back of the laundromat.
The mother searched the entire area until she found her daughter in the local library's play area down the block.
The police later identified and arrested Corte, who already had an active warrant, and charged him with second-degree kidnapping. It was reported that Corte told the police he “made a mistake when I took that child from here.”
“Your honor, my client has had zero interaction with law enforcement. We’re asking for a release on his own recognizance. He thought the girl lived alone without parents,” public defender Alexandra Dyroff said in court. “He took her to the library and told an employee there as such but there was a language barrier. It seems to be a mistake.”
“The mom ran out and actually caught him at the library. The cops were called, when they got there [Corte] told police ‘she didn’t have parents,’” the laundromat owner told the media. He added, “This could have happened anywhere. He was talking to her inside the store, the mom was wandering around for 20 minutes while he was talking to her in the back. This could have happened anywhere. This could have happened at Disneyland. You got to watch your kids, you can’t leave her alone for 20 minutes!”
The Suffolk County District Attorney, Ray Tierney, argued for a $150,000 cash bail, $300,000 bond or a $1.5 million partially secured bond. But got none of them.
“I think given the facts of this case … given the fact that he already has a bench warrant out and it’s alleged that he removed, he kidnapped this child from away from their mother … based on all those factors, that’s why we asked for such a high bail,” he said.
He added, “He took a 4-year-old girl from King Laundry where she had been with her mother doing laundry. The defendant made an oral admission, quote, ‘I made a mistake when I took the girl.'”
Judge James F. Leonick decided to cut Corte loose anyway on supervised release with a GPS monitor.
Tierney feels it was the wrong decision.
“We respectfully disagree with it [the outcome]. I think if you look at the facts of the case, clearly they’re concerning,” Tierney told the media. “Also, you have a situation where there was already a bench warrant issued. This person has tenuous ties to the jurisdiction. So this is just another situation where it appears as though, you know, we’re gonna have to act and act quickly to protect the community.”
Tierney also challenged the defense attorney’s logic.
”So there’s a lost child, and you believe a child is lost, and then you take that child to another place, and then you just leave that child there, isn’t that worse? Again, these are allegations,” he said.
Corte is due back in court later this week.
--------------------------------------------
Writer Eddie Molina is a veteran and has over 25 years of combined LEO/military service. He owns and operates the LEO apparel and accessory company www.BuyHeroStuff.com
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