June 20, 2000

RICHMOND HILL MAN SENTENCED IN ASSAULT ON YOUNG TEENAGE GIRL IN VILLA RUSSO RESTAURANT PARKING LOT

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today the sentencing of a Richmond Hill man for the sexual assault of a 13 year old girl who had been waiting for a bus in front of the Villa Russo Restaurant.

District Attorney Brown identified the defendant as Aramsingh Bhupsingh, 57, of 97-24 121^st Street, Richmond Hill. He was convicted of forcible sodomy after a 3 week jury trial. Acting Supreme Court Justice Roger N. Rosengarten sentenced the defendant to 12½ to 25 years in prison.

District Attorney Brown said, "The defendant cruelly attacked a defenseless school girl. This sentence is the very least he deserves for his reprehensible behavior. "

According to the trial testimony, the crime occurred on the evening of March 31, 1998 around 9:00pm as the victim was waiting for a bus after studying at a friend's house. The defendant than she approached her as she stood alone at the bus stop and dragged her into the deserted walled parking lot of the Villa Russo Restaurant. The victim, who was thirteen at the time, was no match for her assailant. Inside the parking lot he pushed her to the ground and sodomized her. A Good Samaritan noticed that something was wrong and called police to the scene.

Assistant District Attorney Catherine Kane of the District Attorney's Special Victims Bureau, which is under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Marjory D. Fisher and Kenneth M. Appelbaum and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney Gregory L. Lasak, tried the case.