A Riverhead barber was indicted today for allegedly attempting to touch an 11-year-old boy while the boy’s father was in the barber shop’s bathroom.
Hilario Hernandez de la Cruz was indicted on three felony sex crime charges and a misdemeanor.
According to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, the victim and his father visited Hernandez de la Cruz’s barber shop on East Main Street in Riverhead July 10, where the victim’s father got a haircut. During the haircut, Hernandez de la Cruz and the victim’s father shared several alcoholic drinks, the DA said in a press release.
MORE COVERAGE: Riverhead barber arrested on sex crime charges involving 11-year-old boy, police say
After drinking, the victim’s father went to the bathroom. Once Hernandez de la Cruz and the victim were alone, Hernandez de la Cruz allegedly offered the boy increasing sums of money while asking for sexual acts from the child.
Hernandez de la Cruz allegedly tried to grab the child’s genitals, and made sexually suggestive gestures to the boy, while the victim pushed the man’s hands away. The victim then called his mother, and she picked him up from the barbershop. Once the boy told his mother what happened, she called the police, according to the release.
The defendant was arraigned today on charges of:
- Attempted Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, a Class C violent felony
- Attempted Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, a Class E felony;
- Criminal Solicitation in the Third Degree, a Class E felony; and
- Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a Class A misdemeanor.
The boy’s father, who has not been identified to protect the victim’s identity, was also arrested and charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Tierney said.
Suffolk County Criminal Court Judge Karen Wilutis set Hernandez de la Cruz’s bail at $75,000 cash, $150,000 bond, or $750,000 partially secured bond. The defendant is due back in court on August 30..
Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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