Overview
- Police say Carlos Corte, 38, led a 4-year-old girl out a rear door of Laundry Kingdom in Patchogue on Saturday, and her mother later found her safe in the nearby Patchogue-Medford Library play area.
- Officers reviewed surveillance video, canvassed the area, and arrested Corte near the laundromat before charging him with second-degree kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.
- At arraignment, a judge ordered supervised release with a GPS ankle monitor after the defense said a language barrier led Corte to take the child to the library to find her parents.
- Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney criticized the release and said prosecutors had sought $150,000 cash bail or a $300,000 bond, citing Corte’s outstanding bench warrant and what he called concerning facts.
- Judge James F. Leonick directed Corte to return to court on April 16 on a separate warrant case, while the kidnapping case proceeds under New York’s Class B felony statute that can bring up to 25 years in prison.