Cops say a father flew into a fit of rage on Gordon Street in Stapleton this morning after learning his daughter said she was molested.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Stapleton father who had just learned that his 12-year-old daughter had reportedly been molested flew into a rage yesterday morning, attacking several police officers in an attempt to get at the suspect, authorities said.
That outburst means the father, Wilfredo Camacho, 29, now faces more severe charges than the young girl’s alleged abuser, 20-year-old Miguel Vega.
"Me as a father, I lost my mind, and I was running up to my home to get to Miguel," Camacho said in a phone interview with the Advance.
Camacho said his daughter had run away from her home on Gordon Street at about midnight, and when she returned, at about 7 a.m., the girl told her mother that Vega had been molesting her.
His wife called police, and when he arrived at home that morning, he said, he found a half dozen uniformed officers there. That’s when he learned about the alleged abuse — authorities say the girl is accusing Vega of touching her on multiple occasions since Nov. 26, groping her over her clothing.
Camacho said Vega was a friend of his wife, and had been living with the family for the past six months, after Vega’s mother had thrown him out.
He rushed upstairs to go after Vega, and police allege he attacked several officers who tried to restrain him.
According to court papers, he punched one officer, Fatmir Useini, several times in the shoulder, punched another, Christina Rodriguez, in the face, and knocked Useini down the stairs, causing him to fall into Ms. Rodriguez and a third officer, Michael Tarulli.
All three officers were taken to Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton, and treated for bruises and swelling, authorities said.
Camacho recounts the struggle differently — "No, that’s not what happened. What I was doing was to push them off me to get upstairs," he said.
Camacho said that unbeknownst to him at the time, Vega wasn’t actually upstairs — police had taken him downstairs, out of sight.
"They already knew that he wasn’t upstairs, so why didn’t they let me upstairs? I had no idea," he said.
Camacho faces multiple felony and misdemeanor charges, the most serious being two counts of second-degree assault — which is punishable by two to seven years in prison if he’s convicted at trial, according to William J. Smith, a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan. He was released on his own recognizance after his arraignment in Stapleton Criminal Court.
Vega, meanwhile, faces only misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail — second- and third-degree sexual abuse, endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree harassment.
A law enforcement source said that the allegations against Vega by law didn’t raise to the level of felony charges, since the girl wasn’t injured and no penetration or beneath-the-clothes contact took place.
Regarding the fact that he faces a more severe punishment than Vega, Camacho said, "I think it’s not fair. They didn’t understand where I was coming from."
Though he faces less serious charges than Camacho, Vega is being held on $2,500 bail. Public records show that he was arrested back in October on a misdemeanor weapon possession charge. He pleaded guilty last month to disorderly conduct, in exchange for a conditional discharge and was slated to return to court March 10 to decide whether to take five days of community service or 15 days in jail.
Vega denied molesting the girl when interviewed by police, the law enforcement source said, saying that any contact between him and the girl was incidental or with the affection he’d show for a younger sister.
"I might have a few times touched her by mistake, but never on purpose," Vega said, according to the source. "I kissed her on the cheek, but never on the lips."
Camacho steadfastly said his daughter would not make up the allegations. "I definitely believe my daughter," he said.
And even knowing the consequences, he doesn’t think he would have done anything differently — "No, if I could put back time, no I wouldn’t."
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