By Rebecca Henely
A man from Jackson Heights and a man from Elmhurst were given long sentences in Queens Supreme Court last week for brutal crimes that left their victims permanently scarred, the Queens district attorney’s office said.
Anthony Parra, 21, of 73rd Street in Jackson Heights, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for putting his girlfriend’s then-11-month-old baby under scalding water, giving her severe burns, the DA said. Later in the week, Luis German Yunga, 43, of Penrod Street in Elmhurst, received 28 years in prison for raping, assaulting and slashing open his ex-girlfriend’s face, the DA said.
In May 2010, Parra had been baby-sitting his ex-girlfriend’s daughters, one 2 years old and the other 11 months old, the DA said. When the infant began crying early in the morning, Parra attempted to settle her down with a bottle, the DA said. When that did not work, Parra subjected the baby to a cruel regimen that included dousing her in hot water multiple times, scrubbing her skin so hard it peeled off and putting cream and alcohol on her burns, the DA said. When the baby was brought to New York Presbyterian Hospital, medical personnel said burns covered 30 percent of the baby’s body, the DA said.
Judge Richard Butcher set his sentence last Thursday after Parra pleaded guilty to first-degree assault last month, the DA said.
“[Last Thursday’s] sentence is necessary to punish the defendant and to serve as a warning to others who would abuse a child,” Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
The next day, Judge Joel Blumenfeld sentenced Yunga to 28 years in prison, the DA said. After a three-week trial, Yunga was convicted of rape, burglary, two counts of assault, unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child, the DA said.
Yunga had supposedly invited his ex-girlfriend over to his house to discuss financial issues, but when she arrived, he asked that the two of them get back together, the DA said. When she said no, Yunga attacked her with a knife, cutting both sides of her face, her stomach and her arms, the DA said. He held her there for several hours and threatened to kill her daughters if she tried to contact the police, the DA said.
The woman got medical treatment for her wounds, which caused permanent scars, after he fled the scene, but her nightmare did not end there, the DA said. In August 2008, Yunga attacked the woman at her residence, the DA said. He beat her and raped her in front of her 8-year-old daughter, who called 911, the DA said. Police arrested him after he jumped out the window in an attempt to escape, the DA said.
“[Friday’s] sentence will hopefully bring some peace of mind to the victim in this case who survived two terrifying attacks by a man with whom she was once involved,” Brown said. “This defendant’s actions were reprehensible and the lengthy sentence imposed is necessary to punish him and to protect society.”
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
