The man who beat a 67-year-old Asian woman 125 times in New York is sentenced to 17 years in prison

A New York man who was caught on video punching an elderly Asian woman 125 times earlier this year has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison in connection with the hate crime attack, authorities announced Tuesday.

Tammel Esco, 42, was sentenced to 17.5 years in state prison and five years of post-release supervision in Westchester County court in connection with the March attack, the Westchester County District Attorney announced. Westchester, Miriam E. Rocah, at a press conference.

In the brutal assault, he called the woman of Filipino descent “Asian b—-” and she suffered a hemorrhage to the brain and multiple facial fractures.

He had pleaded guilty to first-degree assault as a hate crime, a violent felony, in September.

“This is a case that has traumatized not only the victim and her family, but also her neighbors in the City of Yonkers, the broader Westchester community, and the broader Asian American and Pacific Islander community across the country. Rock said.

She said the victim and her family worked with the district attorney’s office while they recovered from their injuries.

In the March 11 attack, the woman was walking into her apartment building on Riverdale Avenue in Yonkers when Esco, who lived in the same building and was out front, yelled at her calling her a racial slur, Rocah said.

He then followed her as she entered the building and hit her over the head, knocking her to the ground, continuing to hit her more than 100 times, stomping on her body and spitting on her “in a particularly vile act,” Rocah said. . The incident was caught on the building’s surveillance camera.

Esco was arrested the same day and has been held without bail since the attack.

Jennifer Wu, one of the pro bono attorneys for the victim and her family, said the victim did not want to reveal her medical condition and asked for privacy, “as we continue to heal and try to get back to our normal lives.”

“We appreciate the love and support of the community and the many people who were outraged by this hateful attack. Hate has no place in this society,” Wu said.

Yonkers Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza said there was no relationship between the two and the incident was an isolated attack.

“In 27 years of surveillance, this was one of the most violent and heinous crimes I have witnessed,” Sapienza said.

The victim appeared in court to read his impact statement revealing that he had to leave his home of a long time after the attack and feared for his life.

“Because of Tammel Esco’s cruelty and hate, I lost the place I called home for over 24 years, the place where I raised my daughters and my lifelong neighbors,” she said.

“As the attack was going on, all I could think was, ‘Please Lord, let me live, please Lord, my daughters need me,'” she continued. “I was heartlessly spat at, punched and kicked by a complete stranger 100 times just because of my inheritance… My only hope is that God and the criminal justice system make sure this never happens to another innocent family again.”