By Kathianne Boniello
A Massachusetts man who carried a list of children’s Internet address and ages was arrested last week in Alley Pond Park and charged with repeatedly sodomizing a Bayside boy he had met in an Internet chat room, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
The suspect, Chun Ho, 29, of 121 Tremont St. in Brighton, Mass., was arrested June 12 in Alley Pond Park, a spokeswoman for Brown’s office said. Ho was charged with sodomy and endangering the welfare of a child, the DA’s office said. The charges carry a possible sentence of up to four years in prison if Ho is convicted, the DA’s office said.
According to a criminal complaint obtained from the DA’s office, Ho met the victim, 15, in person for the first time May 5 at a Fresh Meadows shopping center, and the sexual encounters between the two occurred during weekends in empty parking lots in Hollis Hills, Jamaica and Oakland Gardens
Ho, who was accused of driving to Queens from Massachusetts to meet the boy on weekends, rented a Long Island City hotel room June 8 where he allegedly continued the sexual relationship with the victim, 15, according to the criminal complaint. The pair allegedly had sex several times between May 5 and June 9, according to the criminal complaint.
After his arrest Ho admitted to conversing with numerous children in Internet chat rooms over the past year, according to the criminal complaint. Ho had a list of Internet screen names used by children and their ages upon his arrest, the complaint said.
The DA’s office said Ho and the boy met in an Internet chat room in late April and had begun talking over instant messenger, a service that allows people to use screen names of their own choosing and have conversations via computer messages which are sent immediately. The two also had several telephone conversations before choosing to meet in person, the DA’s office said.
“In today’s modern world of Internet access, it is unfortunate indeed that there are those who would prey upon our young people,” Brown said in a news release. “The charges against the defendant are serious and will be vigorously prosecuted.”
A spokeswoman for Brown’s office said the victim’s parents became aware of the abuse and notified authorities. The victim lives at home in Bayside with his parents, the spokeswoman said, but it was unclear how the parents discovered the alleged relationship between Ho and their son.
Ho was also accused of buying the victim clothes and a cell phone and taking him to Jones Beach and Splish Splash water park on Long Island between the beginning of May and mid-June, the DA said.
During the sexual encounters between Ho and the victim the Massachusetts man met the boy in Fresh Meadows several times and usually drove the teen home after the meetings, the DA’s office said.
The pair allegedly engaged in sexual acts in parking lots near the intersections of Union Turnpike and Bell Boulevard, Hillside Avenue and 160th Street and 73rd Avenue near Alley Pond Park, according to the criminal complaint.
Reach reporter Kathianne Boniello by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 146.
