Man Took 4-Year-Old From Patchogue Laundromat, Promised ‘Secret Room’: DA

PATCHOGUE, NY — An Ecuadorian national was indicted Thursday after prosecutors said he lured a 4-year-old child away from her family at a Patchogue laundromat and walked her through downtown Patchogue to the local library.

Carlos Corte, 38, was arraigned before Supreme Court Justice John Collins on charges of second-degree kidnapping, a Class B violent felony, and endangering the welfare of a child, a Class A misdemeanor, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

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According to prosecutors, the child was with her family at a Patchogue laundromat at about 11:20 a.m. on March 28 when Corte entered the business without laundry.

Corte, who did not know the family, approached the child and spoke with her in a rear vestibule for nearly 10 minutes, prosecutors said.

Corte then held the door open, gestured for the child to come with him and left the laundromat with her, prosecutors said.

He walked the child through downtown Patchogue, at one point holding her hand, before taking her to the children’s department of the Patchogue-Medford Library, prosecutors said.

The library has multiple private conference rooms and a family bathroom, according to the DA’s office.

Librarians initially believed Corte was the child’s father and greeted them, but Corte did not respond, prosecutors said. A few minutes later, Corte told librarians that the child had followed him to the library, and they immediately notified security, prosecutors said.

The child’s mother, after realizing her daughter was missing, searched the area with help from witnesses who had seen the child walking with a man and directed her to the library, prosecutors said.

The mother found her daughter with Corte, who apologized for taking the child, prosecutors said.

The child later told investigators that Corte indicated he was going to take her to a “secret room,” prosecutors said.

Corte was arrested a short time later after returning to the laundromat, prosecutors said.

He was initially arraigned on March 29 on a complaint charging him with second-degree kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child, prosecutors said.

The court ordered Corte released with GPS monitoring, despite the DA’s request for bail of $150,000 cash, $300,000 bond or $1.5 million partially secured bond, prosecutors said.

After discussions with the DA’s office, Corte was apprehended and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on March 31 for entering the United States illegally from Ecuador, prosecutors said.

ICE officials then informed the DA’s office, and an assistant district attorney obtained a writ to bring Corte back to Suffolk County to face the charges, prosecutors said.

Collins ordered Corte remanded on Thursday while the case is pending, prosecutors said.

Corte is due back in court on June 18. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top count, prosecutors said.

He is represented by the Legal Aid Society, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Public safety demands that alleged dangerous predators remain behind bars, not released back into our communities to potentially harm other innocent children,” Tierney said. “Thanks to the swift action of ICE, following this defendant’s release, we were able to secure his detention and obtain a grand jury indictment on these serious charges.”