A Middle Village man is charged with attempted rape following a police accusation that he attempted to solicit sex from someone he believed a 14-year-old girl online.
According to the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, Joseph R. Sylvester, 51, of Middle Village, allegedly engaged in conversation through an online messaging service to exchange pictures with what he believed was a 14-year-old girl but was actually an undercover cop.
“This case underscores the crucial importance of Internet surveillance initiative bylaw enforcement to protect children from sexual predators and should serve as a warning to parents to closely monitor their children’s Internet access and activities,” said District Attorney Richard Brown. “Despite numerous publicized arrests for exactly this type of alleged behavior, sexual predators continue to be relentless in searching the Internet for victims. Do not let your child become one of them.”
Between Nov. 24, 2015 and Jan. 6, 2016, police say that Sylvester sent sexually explicit messages under the username ARMYSTRONGNY@AOL.COM.
He and the user decided on a place to meet, where he was subsequently arrested.
According to a press release from the Queens County District Attorney, Sylvester is being held pending arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on charges of second-degree attempted rape,second-degree attempted criminal sexual act, first-degree attempted disseminating indecent material to minors and attempted endangering the welfare of a child. If convicted, Sylvester faces up to four years in prison and be required to register as a sex offender.
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