NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Queens grand jury indicted a 41-year-old Brooklyn man on hate-crime assault charges on Wednesday for a February attack on a Muslim woman, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
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Prosecutors accused Joval Cedeno of attacking a woman who was dressed in religious garb after spewing hate speech at her on an N train that had just left the Queensboro Plaza station on Feb. 18.
He allegedly started berating her for wearing a hijab and other religious clothing, asking “Why aren’t you wearing a sundress?” before hurling expletives at her.
He then started beating the victim, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Emergency responders brought the victim to a local hospital for treatment.
Cedeno allegedly slapped a second victim in the face later that day on the 5 train near the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center station in Brooklyn and said “Go back to Germany, cracker.”
“The defendant was motivated by his own hatred when he attacked the victim, who was wearing a Hijab at the time, based on her physical appearance and perceived ethnicity,” said Katz. “This shameful behavior will not be tolerated in Queens County and I remain committed to holding accountable those who try to undermine the feeling of safety for our vibrant and diverse communities.”
Cedeno faces charges for assault as a hate crime, assault and aggravated harassment.
He could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
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