Good Samaritan Stops Sexual Assault Of A Child In Parking Lot After Hearing Screams From Minivan, Prosecutors Say

CBS New York

April 3, 2021

A Riverhead man is being held without bail for allegedly sexually abusing a child.

Prosecutors say Jose Samuel Carabantes Pineda, 35, was arrested after a good Samaritan heard screaming coming from a minivan in the parking lot of the Big Lots store in Riverhead on March 20.

After hearing the screams, the good Samaritan approached the vehicle and knocked on the window. According to authorities, Carabantes Pineda had his child victim in the back of the minivan restrained with duct tape and had sexually assaulted her. When the good Samaritan knocked on the window, Carabantes Pineda allegedly jumped into the driver’s seat and drove off. The good Samaritan called 911 and followed Carbantes Pineda to his home, prosecutors said.

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