Nanny Guilty in Shaken Baby Assault

GLENDALE WOMAN NOW FACES 25 YEARS

A Glendale nanny is facing 25 years in prison after being convicted of assaulting an infant girl she was caring for.

Alma Calderaro, 35, of 73rd Place was found guilty last Friday of first-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child following a five-week jury trial in Queens Criminal Court, according to District Attorney Richard Brown. She faces a quarter century behind bars when she is sentenced on March 20.

According to trial testimony, Calderaro took seven-month-old Fiona Qirjako – who was having seizures and having difficulty breathing – to the emergency room at St. John’s Queens Hospital on January 11, 2006. The infant was transferred later that evening to Long Island Jewish Hospital where medical personnel observed bleeding in the brain and eyes and extensive brain damage.

Doctors at LIJ determined that the baby was suffering from bleeding on the brain and other injuries consistent with the non-accidental inflicted trauma of Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma, which occurs when a baby is repeatedly and violently shaken.

At trial, Fiona’s parents testified that their daughter was in perfect health up to the time she was dropped off at Calderaro’s residence. While on the stand, Calderaro testified that the baby was gasping for air and that she shook Fiona in order to revive her. However, medical experts testified that the defendant’s account of how the baby was injured was inconsistent with the nature and severity of the injuries she suffered.

Fiona, who is now nearly four years old, has permanent brain damage, according to the district attorney’s office.

In a separate and unrelated trial that also ended last Friday, 50-year-old Herdis Baptise of 226th Street in Laurelton was found guilty of abusing his wife’s two preteen daughters over a six-year period. He faces more than 30 years in prison when sentenced on March 30, according to District Attorney Brown.

According to trial testimony, Baptise began sexually abusing his two stepdaughters in July 1998 – when they were seven and eight years old – and continued until July 2004 when the younger sister turned thirteen. While testifying at the trial, the girls recounted how, on at least one occasion, Baptise inferred that they should be quiet and said he would give them candy.

“In both cases, the defendants occupied positions of trust and authority with their victims and chose to violate that responsibility in the most base ways – physically and emotionally traumatizing their young victims and ultimately robbing them of normal lives,” said District Attorney Brown. “The nightmares they imposed on their victims warrant the imposition of lengthy prison sentences.”

Both cases were investigated by the NYPD’s Queens Special Victims Unit, which is based out of the Queens Child Advocacy Center in Forest Hills, under the supervision of Lieutenant Patrick Baricelli, squad commander, and Sergeant Guisella Rodriguez.

Queens Gun Buyback Nets Record Haul

The recent gun buyback program held by Queens District Attorney Richard Brown and the NYPD collected a record 919 weapons at sites throughout south Queens and the Rockaway Peninsula.

“Our one-day gun buyback effort has proven to be a huge success – far exceeding our expectations – by taking more than 900 weapons out of circulation,” said Brown. “I think it is fair to say that the citizens of Queens County are safer today as a result.”

The buyback program was held last weekend at six churches in Jamaica, Laurelton, Saint Albans and Far Rockaway. Individuals in possession of illegal or unwanted guns were allowed to anonymously trade them in for a $200 bank card, while functional BB guns and air pistols were exchanged for $20bank cards. The cards can be used as a debit card or to withdraw money at any ATM.

“Six churches in St. Albans, Jamaica and the Rockaways helped us collect 919 guns – the most ever collected since we began our buyback program,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said the total number of guns collected citywide through buyback programs has reached 3,500. “That’s 3,500 guns that won’t end up on our streets in the hands of criminals, won’t be involved in tragic household accidents or crimes, and won’t ever be pointed at police officers or civilians.”

According to NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly, the city has collected an additional 5,000 guns over the past seven years through its program of offering $100, no questions asked, to individuals who return guns to any precinct stationhouse in the city.

“Our partnership with the city’s clergy and their congregations has worked miracles,” said Kelly. “That’s 5,000 guns [collected at stationhouses] over seven years. But over the course of just six Saturdays, we have recovered over 3,000 guns by having them turned in at houses of worship and by doubling the reward to $200 with matching contributions from our district attorneys. It is a life saving program.”

Added Brown: “The Queens gun buyback initiative is another example of the partnership that exists in this city between police, prosecutor and the communities that we serve to improve the quality of life of our residents and to lower the level of violence in the city."

DA and NYPD to Host Gun Buyback Program

$200 Offered in Exchange for Illegal Firearms

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown and NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly will join six local church pastors on Saturday for a gun buyback program, which aims to take illegal guns off the streets by offering a $200 cash return for each eligible weapon surrendered.

Guns must be dropped off at one of six locations in the Rockaways and South Queens between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. All transactions will be anonymous with no questions asked, and individuals will receive a $200 bank card in exchange for illegal handguns, rifles and shotguns.

Functional BB guns and air pistols can be exchanged for a $20 bank card. All guns must be functional, and no guns will be accepted from active or retired law enforcement officials. The bank cards can be used as a debit card or to withdraw money from an ATM.

There is no limit to the number of guns individuals can surrender, but payment will only be issued for up to three weapons. Plainclothes police officials, QDA Detective Investigators and members of the NYPD Queens District Attorney Squad will be at the churches to accept the firearms.

Participants are encouraged to use paper or plastic bags or shoe boxes to transport the guns to the church. If transported by vehicle, weapons must be kept in the trunk.

The program is centered on neighborhoods in the Rockaways and South Queens, where homicides increased from 43 to 71 last year.

“The ultimate goal of this law enforcement initiative is to get as many guns as possible off the streets of Queens County in order to reduce firearm violence and bring about safer neighborhoods for all residents,” said Brown. “The support of the community is critical to the success of this program and emblematic of the level of cooperation needed by law enforcement to ensure the safety of everyone.”

Participating mainland churches are: Praise Tabernacle, 108-11 Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica; Evangel Temple, 227-10 Merrick Boulevard in Laurelton; Majority Baptist Church, 115-21 Farmers Boulevard in Jamaica; and Presbyterian Baptist Church, 190-01 119th Avenue in Saint Albans.