Honduran national indicted for touching multiple young girls inside Long Island TJ Maxx
Honduran national Jimmy Harry Velasquez Gomez was indicted for allegedly groping three young girls in a Long Island TJ Maxx. Suffolk County Police Department
A 44-year-old Honduran man has been indicted on multiple child sex-abuse charges after allegedly groping three young girls at a Long Island TJ Maxx and being caught on surveillance pleasuring himself while watching one of the victims, police said.
Jimmy Harry Velasquez Gomez was charged Friday following an investigation that revealed three separate incidents over several months in which girls between the ages of seven and 11 were targeted, prosecutors said.
“The charges against this defendant describe disturbing acts of sexual abuse that strike at the heart of our community’s sense of safety,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.
Authorities said the incidents occurred between April and October. Each involved a young girl briefly separated from her parents while browsing the store’s toy aisle.
On April 19, police said a 7-year-old and her mother reported that Gomez approached the child and grabbed her butt before fleeing when the girl went to tell her mother. On September 20, an 11-year-old told her parents that Gomez had similarly groped her as he passed by.
The final incident reportedly occurred on October 29, when Gomez allegedly followed a 9-year-old around the store, rubbing himself over his pants as he watched her shop, before touching her.
Gomez’s attorney, Joseph Hanshe, previously claimed his client merely “brushed along” the children while passing through the store. Investigators, however, said surveillance footage from all three incidents shows deliberate actions.
Gomez, who was taken into custody, was arraigned on November 14 on charges including first- and second-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. He is being held on bail of up to $3.5 million.
Hanshe did not respond to requests for comment.
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