NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Talk of the Sound first reported on the arrest of Humberto Agustin on July 27th. An updated story ran on July 30th. Yet go online and as of the publication of this article today the only mention of Humberto Agustin you will find are the previous stories on Talk of the Sound.
Why?
There are not too many First Degree Rape charges filed in Westchester County and even less involving a child. So, why the silent treatment on this story?
Every media outlet in the area is aware of the story because they all follow Talk of the Sound on Twitter and many through our daily newsletter.
The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office has charged Humberto Agustin, 42, with Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the First Degree, a Class B Felony and Criminal Contempt in the First Degree for violating an Order of Protection. The alleged rapes of a child occurred over a four-month period between August 2014 and December 2014.
Agustin, who was residing in New Rochelle at the time he was arrested was born in Guatemala. He is not a United States citizen and does not have a social security number. The District Attorney would not comment on Agustin’s immigration status. Talk of the Sound has put in an inquiry to the Department of Homeland Security to determine if ICE has put a detainer on Agustin in the event he is ever released.
Agustin was arrested by New Rochelle police on July 23rd at about 6:00 p.m. and initially charged with First Degree Rape, a Class B Felony. Those charges were later updated. He was remanded to Westchester County Jail in Valhalla, NY where he remains. District Attorney Janet DeFiore has transferred from New Rochelle to the Special Prosecutions Unit.
The news blackout on the Agustin case comes just months after the local media ignored the case of Juan Mendoza-Torres, 23, a Mexican man who moved to New Rochelle this past January and was murdered on the night of March 28th, according to family members. For weeks, police official told residents there was no murder just a case of alcohol poisoning. On April 15th, 2015, the Bronx County Medical Examiner declared the death of Juan Mendoza-Torres to be a homicide after finding Mendoza-Torres had a brain hemorrhage as the result of blunt force trauma.
Family members had claimed for weeks that Mendoza was savagely beaten the night of March 28th by three men inside the El Agave Azul Mexican Restaurant located at 238 Washington Avenue. They say he was dragged outside and left on the sidewalk in a stupor. The Agave Azul was shut down by the New Rochelle Quality of Life Task Force soon after the homicide determination by the Bronx Medical Examiner.
To this day, there has been no local media coverage of the alleged murder of Juan Mendoza-Torres.
In the child rape case, New Rochelle Police and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office have expressed reticence about disclosing details. The sensitive nature of this case has been cited as the reason but Talk of the Sound cannot help but notice that Agustin was in front of a judge just weeks before he allegedly began raping his victim between August 15th, 2014 and December 23rd, 2014.
Agustin was previously served with a Final Order of Protection in the Integrated Domestic Violence Part of the Westchester County Court on June 24, 2014 that forbade him from having any contact with the victim.
In New York, a Temporary Order of Protection usually lasts from one court date to another court date. A Final Order of Protection is issued when there is a final disposition in the case. A Final Order of Protection can last from one year to several years, depending upon the seriousness of the case.
Little is publicly known at this time about the proceedings leading up to the issuance of a Final Order of Protection but its clear that Agustin was in the system and somehow, if the allegations against Agustin are true, the system failed the young girl in this case.
According to the Felony Complaint filed in the City Court of New Rochelle — the case has since been transferred to White Plains — Agustin waited all of about seven weeks before allegedly placing the victim in fear of physical injury, intentionally and repeatedly engaged in sexual conduct with the victim including sexual intercourse, according to the complaint. What is potentially more disturbing is the 7 month gap between when the alleged child rapes ended and when Agustin was arrested — with all that implies.
The allegations of what was done to a young girl are terrible. The savage beating resulting in the death of a young man horrific. The lack of local media interest in these gruesome tragedies confounding.
RELATED STORIES:
Illegal Immigrant from Guatemala Arrested for Repeatedly Raping a Child in New Rochelle
38 Reasons Why New Rochelle Quality of Life Task Force Shut Down Agave Azul
MURDER IN NEW ROCHELLE: Medical Examiner Declares Death of Mexican Man in New Rochelle a Homicide