Convicted Child Groper Flees Queens Courthouse: Authorities

ELMHURST, QUEENS -- A Queens man on trial for groping an 11-year-old girl in Elmhurst fled the courthouse before a jury could deliver his guilty verdict, prosecutors said Monday.

Jose Para, 37, was out of police custody on bail during a weeklong trial over allegations he touched the girl inappropriately while she was walking to school in June 2016, said District Attorney Richard Brown.

By the time jurors found Para guilty of sexual abuse late Friday night, he had fled the courthouse. Cops are now searching for the Middle Village man, who now faces a "considerable amount of time in prison," Brown said.

“A child walking to school in broad daylight should never have to worry about a stranger approaching and touching her inappropriately," Brown said.

But prosecutors said that's what happened to the 11-year-old girl Para sexually assaulted on June 23, 2016.

The girl was walking to middle school just before 8 a.m. that day when Para, a complete stranger, approached her near Albion Avenue and began to chat, according to trial testimony.

He asked the girl her name, age, where she lived and what school she attended before making a comment about her shirt and grabbing her right breast, prosecutors said. The girl ran away and immediately reported him to school officials.

Para now faces up to seven years in prison on charges of first-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.

Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the defendant are encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-8477.

(Lead photo via Patch)