QUEENS MAN INDICTED FOR TRYING TO MEET MINOR DURING UNDERCOVER PREDATOR STING
Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II announced today that Jose Quizhpi, 48 of Queens, New York was indicted by a Rockland County Grand Jury on eight counts of Attempted Disseminating Indecent Material to Minors in the First Degree (PL Sec. 110.00/235.22), two counts of Attempted Rape in the Third Degree (PL Sec. 110.00/130.25(4), 110.00/130.25(5)) and one count of Attempted Endangering the Welfare of a Child (PL Sec. 110.00/260.10(1)).
On or about and between November 5, 2024, and November 17, 2024, the defendant exchanged numerous text messages, photographs, and videos, which were sexually explicit in nature, with a female child who he met online and whom he believed to be 15 years old. In fact, the defendant was communicating with an undercover investigator from the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office who was posing as a 15-year-old female child. Quizhpi planned to meet with the 15-year-old child to engage in sexual acts with her at a movie theater in The Town of Clarkstown. Quizhpi arrived at the theater and was apprehended.
District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II said, “As alleged, the defendant in this case knowingly engaged in sexually explicit conversations and tried to meet with an individual whom he believed to be a fifteen-year-old girl. Protecting innocent children from sexual predators who are using the internet to exploit them is a top priority for my Office and
these actions will not be tolerated. I want to stress to parents the importance of speaking with their children about the dangers of the internet, and that they should never share personal information online or engage with a stranger. We will continue to work with our partners on the local, state, and federal level to protect the innocent children of Rockland County. “
This undercover investigation was led by the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office Special Investigations and Special Victims Unit with the assistance of the Clarkstown Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations.
Supervising Assistant District Attorney Gerard M. Damiani III and Senior Assistant District Attorney Joseph Santangelo are prosecuting the case.
It should be noted that a criminal complaint is merely an accusation, and a defendant should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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