Car Thief Surprised by Child in Backseat by Stephen Geffon - Queens Chronicle

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A man who stole a car idling near this deli was shocked to find a child in the back seat, police said. PHOTO BY ANNA GUSTAFSON

A car thief who jumped into an idling car outside a bodega in South Ozone Park last week got the surprise of his life when he discovered a 9-year-old boy sitting in the back seat, police said.

The boy’s father, Robert Collins, 53, of South Richmond Hill, had allegedly left his son, Omar, in his four-door red Honda Accord while he popped into the mini market at the corner of 109th Avenue and the Van Wyck Expressway around 7:45 a.m. last Friday, according to police.

When Collins returned, he found that his car and his son were gone.

Luckily, however, he had left his cell phone in the car, which he quickly dialed.

When the phone rang the thief allegedly told the youngster, “Tell him everything is OK, and I’m going to drop you and the car off.”

The man told the child his father could find him at 231st Street and Conduit Avenue, police said.

The youngster described the perpetrator to police as a black man in his 30s with a medium build, a thin beard, black coat and black hat. He remains at large.

Police found the car about 15 minutes after it was taken at the Laurelton intersection specified by the thief. The child was found in the car unharmed.

A police official told the Wall Street Journal that the father could be charged with several offenses for leaving his son in a running vehicle, but it was unlikely that he would be. When the NYPD was contacted by the Queens Chronicle, this could not be confirmed.

Canine units brought to the scene to locate the suspect followed a scent to a vacant house on Lansing Avenue, but from there the trail went cold, police said.

Officers dusted the Honda for prints are reportedly studying surveillance video to try and identify the alleged car jacker.

SUV Carjacked with Child in Backseat - Eyewitness News with Jamie Roth - 7online.com

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An infant took the ride of his young life when carjacker stole his father's SUV, left idling outside a store in the Jamaica section of Queens.

Police say the boy's father left his 1995 Chevy Blazer running when he went into a store at 92nd Street and Jamaica Avenue just before midnight.

He left his son, an 18-month-old named Micholas, in the back seat.

As he entered the store, the father said he turned around and spotted someone in his car.

He yelled, "Bro, my son is in the car! My son is in the car!" But the suspect took off.

The father called police, who quickly responded and searched the area.

The carjacker, apparently spotting the boy in the back, dropped off the child in front of a nearby house on 104th Street.

The boy, left with a bottle, was reportedly found by residents. They called police, who reunited the child with his father.

The boy appeared unharmed. Both were taken to Jamaica Medical Center for evaluation.

The suspect fled in the SUV. No arrests were immediately made.

NY1: Teen Accused Of Attempted Sex Assault Turns Himself In...

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July 14, 2007 - A teenager wanted for allegedly trying to sexually assault a 7-year-old girl in Queens turned himself in Friday night.

Dillon Fattori, 18, was arrested Saturday on charges of attempted criminal sex abuse of a child, and endangering the welfare of a child.

'The defendant is accused of luring a young child off of a public street during daylight hours in order to molest her,' said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown in a statement. 'Such an allegation makes the defendant a threat to children and a clear and present danger to society. The charges will be vigorously prosecuted.'

Police say the girl was riding her scooter last Friday night in Bayside when Fattori pulled her off it and took her into a backyard.

Police say a neighbor became suspicious when a dog began barking. Fattori ran off when the neighbor screamed, say police.

If convicted, Fattori faces up to 15 years in prison."

NY Post: 'Girl-Grab' Fiend Gives Himself Up by Perry Chiaramonte...

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July 14, 2007 -- The creepy perv who attempted to force himself upon a 7-year-old girl in Queens last week - only to be scared off by a dog - turned himself in to cops yesterday, authorities said.

Dillon Fattori, 18, was charged last night for allegedly grabbing the young girl off a Flushing street and taking her to a backyard where he tried to sexually assault her last Friday.

He is charged with attempted sexual act on a child, attempted sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child, police said.

Police said Fattori originally coaxed the girl by telling her that he wanted to show her birds and worms in the yard.

As the little girl screamed for help, Blue, a pit bull-boxer mix, was in a nearby yard and started barking, which brought his owner, Heather Fretes, outside.

She screamed, 'Hey what's going on,' which scared off the attacker."

FYI-QUEENS KID MOLESTER

FYI-QUEENS KID MOLESTER

Police have released a photo of the man suspected of trying to molest a 7-year-old girl in Queens before he was scared off by a dog.

Dillon Fattori, 18, of Bayside, Queens, is described as white, about 5-foot-7 and 140 pounds with sandy brown hair.

He was seen near 171st St. in Flushing last Friday just before the girl was lured between two garages and attacked, the source said.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call (800) 577-TIPS.

Various Sources: Pervert Tries to Lure 7 Year-old Girl - Saved by Hero Dog...

Hunt's on for perv who lured Queens girl

New York Daily News, NY - Jul 9, 2007

Police are hunting the creep who grabbed and tried to molest a 7-year-old girl in Queens on Friday night, but there is no indication the attack is part of a pattern, cops said yesterday.

The perv lured the youngster between two garages on 171st St. in Flushing but she started to scream.

Bleu, a pit bull mix owned by a neighbor, heard the girl and started to bark frantically, said the dog's owner, Heather Fretes. The man fled when Fretes started yelling at him, she said.

Cops are looking for a white man in his late teens or early 20s with sandy brown, spiked hair. He was last seen wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt, cops said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls are kept confidential.

Ernie Naspretto

Related Articles

1. Hero pooch saves 7-year-old Queens girl
2. Pit bull saves girl from perv

Dog, Owner Help Stop Sexual Attack on Girl

United Press International - Jul 8, 2007

Dog, owner help stop sexual attack on girl

NEW YORK, July 8 (UPI) -- A dog and its owner helped stop a sexual attack on a 7-year-old girl this weekend in New York, primarily due to the animal's keen sense of danger.

New York native Heather Fretes said she discovered the sexual attack in progress after her pit bull-boxer mix suddenly began barking at a walkway between two local garages, the New York Post said Sunday.

Fretes said when she investigated what was upsetting her pet, she found a white man in his 20s struggling with the girl.

Armed only with her clearly antagonized animal, Fretes said she screamed at the man until he fled into some bushes nearby .

"I yelled, 'What's going on here?' and the guy held up his pants and started running," Fretes said, "and the little girl came out crying. She told me he was trying to pull down her shorts."

With the young girl back home safe and sound, Fretes was quick to credit her dog's instincts.

"He's a big hero," she told the Post. "He saved that little girl."

Good Dog!
Gothamist, NY - Jul 8, 2007

A barking pit bull named Bleu (or Blue) was a hero yesterday, as his barking alerted a neighbor to the cries of a young girl who was being molested between two houses on 171st St. in Flushing,

Queens. The Daily News writes that a young man had been sitting on the steps of a house, across the street from where the attack would take place, watching a seven-year-old girl and her friend ride their scooters. Around 7:45 p.m., he approached the young girl and asked her if she wanted to see some worms in a backyard. NY1 reports that the man just pulled the girl off her scooter and carried her to a backyard. Once between two neighboring garages, the man pulled down the girl's pants and attempted to molest her as she started screaming for her parents.

Bleu (The New York Post names the dog Blue), who is a mixed pit bull and belongs to neighbor Heather Fretes, heard the girl's cries and began barking wildly, which brought Fretes to the window, where she saw the attack in progress. She ran outside and yelled at the pervert, who escaped by breaking through a fence––presumably not the one with the barking pit bull on the other side of it––while holding up his pants.

Police are looking for a man in his teens or early 20s, with sandy-brown spiky hair. He was wearing blue jeans and a blue t-shirt Friday evening. Both the Post and the Daily News have pictures of the heroic pit bull, who is adorable looking.

(GOOD DOG, by triborough at flickr)

Hero Pooch Saves 7-year-old Queens Girl
New York Daily News, NY - Jul 8, 2007

A barking dog and an alert woman scared off a pervert in Queens after he lured a girl into a backyard by promising to show her worms, police and witnesses said yesterday.

"Mommy! Daddy!" the 7-year-old girl screamed as she fought off her attacker between two garages about 7:45 p.m. Friday. "Help me!"

Her cries for help startled a dog on the other side of a fence. Bleu, a mixed pit bull, began barking incessantly, which brought his owner, Heather Fretes, to the window.

"He was going wild barking," Fretes said. "I looked out and I saw two people. The girl was screaming."

Fretes ran outside and yelled at the man, who witnesses said had been watching the girl and her friend before the attack. The suspect tore down part of a fence to escape the backyard on 171st St. in Flushing. The girl wept as she told Fretes about the attack.

"He took my hand and led me back where he tried to pull down my pants," the girl said, according to Fretes.

"Everything is fine," the victim's uncle said late yesterday. "She's okay. As long as she's okay, we're fine. She wasn't hurt."

Paramedics took the girl to a nearby hospital, where she was examined and released. She was shaken up, but not injured. No weapon was used, police said.

A police source said detectives interviewed the girl again yesterday in hopes of putting together a sketch of the suspect.

Cops described him as a white man, in his late teens or early 20s, with sandy brown, spiked hair. He was wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt.

"There's no indication at this point that it's part of a pattern," the police source said. "Obviously, we're checking that out, but it's early in the investigation."

Neighbors said the suspect was sitting on the steps of a nearby home, watching the victim and her 10-year-old friend as they rode their scooters. He then got up and approached the girls, telling them he had a bird and liked animals.

"My sister didn't like what the guy was saying to her, so she went in the house," the 10-year-old's sister said yesterday.

rmoore@nydailynews.com

PIT BULL VS. PERV

New York Post, NY - Jul 8, 2007
By Georgett Roberts and Samuel Goldsmith

July 8, 2007 -- A heroic watchdog saved a 7-year-old Queens girl from a sexual attacker yesterday, police said.

Blue, a year-old pit-bull-boxer mix, saw a man drag the girl into a small walkway between two garages in a back yard on 171st Street in Flushing, said the mutt's owner, Heather Fretes.

"My dog was barking, which is unusual, so I went in the back to see why," she said. "He was looking in the corner of the yard, and I heard a little girl crying. I said to myself, 'This doesn't sound right.' "

Fretes went to investigate and saw the girl struggling with a dark-haired white man in his 20s who wore jeans and a blue T-shirt.

"It looked like a father and his child, but the girl was crying for her mommy and daddy," she said.

"I yelled, 'What's going on here?' and the guy held up his pants and started running, and the little girl came out crying. She told me he was trying to pull down her shorts."

The man escaped into bushes behind the garages. Fretes called the police and took the girl home.

Fretes said of the dog: "He's a big hero. He saved that little girl."

Witnesses said the attacker was smoking a cigarette and watching the girl and a 10-year-old friend ride their scooters up and down the block on Friday evening.

He approached the girls and said "he wanted to show them worms and birds," one witness said. The 10-year-old ran home, but the victim said she "wanted to play some more" and stayed with the man.

The attacker pulled her off the scooter and took her to the back yard, where he unbuckled his pants and tried to remove her shorts, police said.

"I was upset," Fretes said. "This could have been one of my daughters."

georgett.roberts@nypost.com