Oct 27, 2006 2:29 pm US/Eastern
Teens Plead Not Guilty In Plumbing Snake Attack
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (CBS) ―
Two teenagers accused of using a plumbing snake to brutally assault a developmentally disabled handyman pleaded not guilty Friday to the recently enacted crime of predatory sexual assault.
Steven Rodriguez, 19, and Michael Lunsford, 17, both of Shirley, were each held on $1 million bail.
The two were arrested last week for allegedly accosting the 21-year-old man on Oct. 15 in the bathroom of the AMF Bowling Centers' Shirley Lanes, where he worked.
One of the attackers, who police said had been bullying the victim for several years, twisted the snake so far into his rectum that it had to be removed during a surgical procedure that took several hours. Both teens are accused of twisting the snake during the attack, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.
The longtime prosecutor called this "one of the worst" crimes he has ever seen.
"I cannot imagine how a person could possibly take a victim such as this ... and do what they did," Spota told reporters after the arraignment. "I don't have to explain it to anybody, just the facts themselves tell us this is horrendous."
The pair were charged with two counts of predatory sexual assault, aggravated sexual abuse and assault. The predatory sexual assault statute was enacted by the state Legislature in June and Rodriguez and Lunsford are believed to be the first defendants on Long Island to face those charges, Spota said.
If convicted, they could be sentenced to anywhere from 10 years to life in prison.
Spota said prosecutors asked the grand jury to file the indictment under the new statute "because of the egregious and horrendous nature of the crimes. This young boy suffered horrible injuries and in a horrible manner."
The handyman, whose parents attended the court proceeding but declined to speak with reporters, spent four days in a hospital and is recuperating at home. Assistant District Attorney Kate Wagner told state Supreme Court Justice Robert Doyle the victim may require additional surgery.
Neither Rodriguez nor Lunsford spoke during their arraignments; their defense attorneys, who entered the pleas -- declined to comment. Both defendants are due back in court on Nov. 13.
Police said the victim and Rodriguez had known each other for at least five years, having met when they were at the Sagamore Children's Psychiatric Center in Dix Hills.
Rodriguez "had a personal animosity toward the victim" and had bullied him during that time, police said. It was possible that Rodriguez may have been upset that the victim had told others that he had spent time in a psychiatric center. A spokesman at the center, citing patient confidentiality, had no comment.
"They forced him to bend over, and Lunsford held him down while Rodriguez assaulted him," Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said after the arrest. The tool, which is used to unclog drains, was found in a storage closet in the bathroom.
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