Say Young Girl Starved, Beaten With Bat
An Ozone Park couple face multiple charges for allegedly abusing their 12-year-old daughter for nearly two years, law enforcement sources stated Tuesday, Aug. 5.
According to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, the victim was severely beaten by stepmother Sheetal Ranot, 31, and biological father Rajesh Ranot, 46, with baseball bats, rolling pins, broom handles and other objects. Beatings allegedly occurred on several occasions from December 2012 to July of this year, Brown stated.
The victim was additionally locked in her bedroom for extended periods and denied food or water, authorities said.
The city Administration for Children’s Services filed an abuse petition in Family Court against the stepmother and father as a result of this investigation, and commissioner Gladys Carrion joined Brown at last Tuesday’s announcement.
The victim reportedly lived with her father and stepmother at their 96th Street home, Brown stated.
The victims’ stepmother appeared in court on Tuesday, July 29, before Queens Criminal Court Judge Deborah Modica, Brown stated. She was charged with second-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child, he said. She faces up to seven years in prison on the assault charge and 25 maximum for endangerment, according to the DA.
She is being held in prison on $60,000 total bail for both charges, it was noted. She was ordered to reappear in court yesterday, Brown said.
The victims’ father appeared in court on Friday, Aug. 1 before Queens Criminal Court Judge Michelle Armstrong, according to the DA. He was charged with second and third-degree assault, first-degree unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child, Brown stated. He is being held in lieu of $25,000 bail and was ordered to reappear yesterday as well, it was noted.
He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted, Brown said.
“The criminal charges allege that this young victim was subjected to years of unspeakable physical abuse at the hands of her father and stepmother–including being locked in her bedroom by her stepmother without food or water for extended periods of time and forced to take cold showers while her father hit her about her body with his hands and even a baseball bat,” Brown said.
After one incident, on May 6, 2013, the victim was reportedly found by medical personnel lying in a pool of blood after allegedly being severly beaten by her stepmother. She was allegedly beaten so badly with a broken metal broom handle that her wrist was cut to the bone and her injuries required surgery and hospitalization, the DA stated.
In another instance, on Apr. 16, 2014, the victim was allegedly hit in the face with a wooden rolling pin by her stepmother, and after being transported to Queens Hospital Medical Center for treatment of her inquiries, doctors allegedly found her emaciated and thin, weighing 58 lbs and wearing dirty clothes, according to Brown.
“I am deeply grateful to the Child Protective Specialists and Investigative Consultants whose diligence and professionalism saved the life of this young girl and ensured that she and her siblings were removed from this home and are now safe from further abuse,” Carrion said.
The investigation was conducted by the 106th Precinct Detective Squad.
Assistant District Attorney Melissa Kelly, of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Kenneth M. Appelbaum, bureau chief, and Assistant District Attorneys Lucinda C. Suarez and Eric C. Rosenbaum, deputy bureau chiefs, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Charles A. Testagrossa and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Daniel A. Saunders.
