Life along New York Avenue in Huntington carries on much the way it usually does, but with a higher note of caution and fear after prosecutors announced the indictment of a 59-year-old Salvadoran national accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in an alley off the busy commercial strip.
“I stick to myself, in and out of the store; just hi and bye,” said a woman who gave her name as JoJo while shopping near the scene. “There is more of a fear factor now that this has happened. I’m glad they got him. If you do something wrong in this country, you should have to leave.”
“He should be punished for what he did and then deported,” said Huntington resident Jorge Quintana. “The members of this community are good, hardworking people. We don’t want people like him around.”
State Senator Mario Mattera, who represents the area, blamed the open-border and sanctuary policies of the Democrats for the illegal immigrant crime that has impacted many communities across the state.
“This is the problem where they just let everybody in here. We have no idea. There was no vetting process and we have no idea who came in. There’s no accountability whatsoever,” the senator said, adding, “This probably would never have happened if we didn’t have a sanctuary city and a sanctuary state. It is a terrible, terrible crime. If it’s an American or an illegal, they need to be arrested and tried. But especially if it’s an illegal. ICE needs to be involved ASAP.”
“Everybody should be supporting arresting violent criminals,” said attorney Paul Sabatino, whose family has had an office on New York Avenue since 1960.
“The people who march and then try to block and impede law enforcement — I don’t know where their mind is at because it just makes absolutely no sense. You only see the radical left-wing progressive Democrats who engage in violence. They believe in violence and they hate our country.”
Across the street from the alley, residents gathered for an afternoon get-together. A retiree who gave his name as Rex Electric summed up the feelings of the group. “We all try to live in peace. There are always a few bad apples in any community. We shouldn’t just be inviting them in.”