Man Indicted After Trying To Kidnap Child, 4, From LI Mosque While Grandfather Prayed: DA

BAY SHORE, NY — A man was indicted on charges including second-degree kidnapping after reportedly taking a child from his grandfather while the elder prayed inside a Bay Shore mosque, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

According to the investigation, on August 20, the four-year-old child was with his grandfather inside the Darul Quaran Mosque in Bay Shore during prayer, the DA said. Nelson Priester, 39, who had been sitting inside the mosque for about four hours, approached the child as his grandfather was in prayer, and led the child away by the hand, Tierney said.

Priester then reportedly brought the child to the dark basement of the mosque, took a plastic bag from a nearby counter and locked himself inside a dark room with the child, the DA said.

A food Samaritan inside the mosque who observed Priester with the child alerted the child’s grandfather and they, and other members of the mosque, called police and kicked the locked door open to find Priester inside with the child, carrying the plastic bag — a pair of scissors was found in his pocket, the DA said.

Priester was not known to the child or his grandfather; the child was not harmed, the DA said.

On September 2 Priester was arraigned on the indictment before Supreme Court Justice John Collins on charges including second-degree kidnapping, a Class B violent felony; luring a child, a Class D felony; and endangering the welfare of a child, a Class A misdemeanor, the DA said.

Justice Collins ordered Priester remanded during the pendency of the case; Priester is due back in court on September 18 and faces 25 years in prison if convicted on the top count, Tierney said. He is being is represented by William Sammis, who was not immediately available for comment.

"This case highlights the vigilance of our community members who acted quickly to protect a vulnerable child from a dangerous situation," said Tierney. "We are grateful the child was unharmed thanks to the swift intervention of mosque members and fast response from our Suffolk County police officers."