FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 20, 2017
Sheepshead Bay Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for
Trying to Kidnap 9-Year-Old Girl who was Playing in her Front Yard
Defendant Exposed Himself and Tried to Grab the Girl;
Victim Rescued by her Father, who Heard Screams
Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a 39-year-old man from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn was sentenced to 15 years in prison for trying to abduct a 9-year-old girl as she played in the front yard of her Brooklyn home. The girl escaped unharmed after her father interrupted the attack. The defendant was convicted last year of attempted kidnapping and other charges after a jury trial.
Acting District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant brazenly invaded what should have been a safe haven for the victim, a child, who was playing in her front yard. We’re grateful that this defendant will be unable to harm other children any time soon, and that the father’s quick actions averted greater tragedy here.”
The Acting District Attorney identified the defendant as Robert Drach, 39, of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Guy Mangano to 15 years in prison, following his conviction on November 9, 2016 on charges of attempted second-degree kidnapping, public lewdness, endangering the welfare of a child, and criminal trespass after a jury trial.
The Acting District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, the 9-year-old victim was playing in the fenced yard in front of her home on Ford Street in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, on June 11, 2015, at approximately 7 a.m. The defendant – who had exposed his genitals – entered the yard through a gate, grabbed the girl, and tried to drag her away. Hearing the child’s screams, her father charged into the yard, grabbed the defendant, and held him until police arrived. The child was not injured.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Ebonie Legrand and Alana Tierney, of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau, under the supervision of Miss Gregory, Chief.
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