Mastic Man Indicted After Sexually Abusing 3 Kids In Medford Store: DA

RIVERSIDE, NY — A Mastic man was indicted on additional charges Friday in connection with sexually abusing three kids inside a TJ Maxx in Medford on three separate occasions, Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said Monday.

Jimmy Harry Velasquezgomez, a 44-year-old Honduran national, faces three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, a felony, in connection with incidents during which he grabbed the buttocks of the children between April and October, prosecutors said.

Velasquezgomez was also seen on video surveillance touching his genitals over his clothes while staring at the 9-year-old child, according to prosecutors. He additionally faces three counts of second-degree sexual abuse, and endangering the welfare of a child, all misdemeanors, court records show.

He was ordered held on $350,000, $950,000 bond, or $3.5 million partially secured bond, pending his next court date on Jan. 14, according to the records.

If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison, the DA said.

Patch has reached out to his defense attorney, Daniel Belano of Islandia.

On April 19, a 7-year-old girl, who was shopping with her mother in the store, asked permission to look around the toy aisle, the DA said. Her mother agreed, and as she stood in the aisle, a man walked toward her and touched and squeezed her buttocks with his hand, according to prosecutors.

The girl went back to her mother to tell her what happened, adding that the mother immediately began to look for the man but couldn’t find him, prosecutors said. She called the police, who arrived on scene and began an investigation, the DA said.

Five months later, on Sept. 20, a 11-year-old girl, who was with her parents in the store, but walked a
short distance away to look for a gift for friend, saw a man holding his genitals through his clothes, Tierney said. A short time later, the man walked toward her and grabbed her buttocks with his hand as he passed, prosecutors said.

The girl told her parents what happened, but the man had already left the store, prosecutors said; the family called the police and reported the incident, officials said.

On Oct. 29, a 9-year-old girl was shopping with her mother and asked permission to look around the toy aisle while her mother was at the end of that same aisle looking at clothes, Tierney said. The child noticed that a man passed her, then looked down the aisle a few times before approaching the child, pulling up the bottom of her sweatshirt, and then squeezing her buttocks, prosecutors said.

The child ran to her mother for help immediately and they contacted the police, prosecutors said.

Suffolk police gathered evidence, including video surveillance from each incident, showing Velasquezgomez on each date, according to prosecutors.

Tierney said his office "takes allegations of crimes against children extremely seriously. The charges against this defendant describe disturbing acts of sexual abuse that strike at the heart of our community’s sense of safety," he said. "My office will relentlessly pursue justice on behalf of these victims and their families."

Investigators are asking that anyone who believes themselves or their child to be the victim of Velasquezgomez, to reach out to the the Suffolk County. Police Department's special victims section at 631-852-6184.