NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A Long Island couple is facing hate crime charges after they were allegedly seen on video verbally harassing a family on a Long Island Rail Road train.
Justin Likerman, of Ronkonkoma, and Kristin Digesaro, of Huntington, surrendered to police Wednesday and were charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime and endangering the welfare of a child. The two also reportedly lost their jobs after being publicly identified.
According to a social media user, who claimed to be a witness and who shared video of the incident, the attack happened on Jan. 10, as the family of five was heading home from a Knicks game.
The alleged witness said the group asked two people if they could move so that they could all sit together. The pair agreed, and that’s when the harassment allegedly began.
“They started throwing beer at us and we didn’t know how to mitigate the situation because my 10-year-old was there,” Liz Edelkind, one of the harassment victims told WCBS 880.
Edelkind, who is a small business owner and a resident of the United States, said she believed they were targeted because of their accents and skin tone.
“'These immigrants, they think they’re better than us, you have no rights in this country, you don’t contribute to anything you just take our resources,'” Edelkind recounted of the verbal assault.
“He just kept on and on,” she said. “It felt like forever – it was about 20 to 25 minutes.”
Edelkind said she called police while seated on the train to report the incident, which only enhanced her fears.
“I am whispering on the phone, in fear, wondering what's going to happen and hoping that he doesn't see me on the phone because any movement from our part was going to be taken as an act of aggression,” she said.
Police did respond to the incident, according to the alleged witness, but the couple fled the scene.
The two turned themselves in to MTA Police after video of the incident began circulating on social media.
Edelkind added that the worst part of the situation was having her 10-year-old son witness the hate.
“My son, forever, I believe he's going to remember this occasion every time he steps into a train,” she said. “Every time he goes to a sports event, he’s gonna have in the back of his mind, ‘Is somebody going to attack him because of his nationality?’”
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