NYC judge sets free thug accused of sucker-punching woman, breaking her jaw — then judge retires to Florida: Report

A New York City judge set free a suspect accused of sucker-punching a woman and breaking her jaw — then the judge retired to Florida days later, the New York Post reported.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

What are the details?

Prosecutors on Wednesday upgraded charges against 33-year-old Franz Jeudy in connection with the highly publicized, unprovoked March attack against 57-year-old Dulche Pichardo, a mother of three, the Post said.

The paper initially said Jeudy was charged with third-degree assault — a misdemeanor, which means he's not bail-eligible — and he was released.

District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a separate Post story that a grand jury soon returned an indictment for felony assault against Jeudy.

Prosecutors asked for bail-eligible second-degree assault and requested $25,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond for Jeudy — but Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Matthew Sciarrino rejected the request and let the suspect go, the paper said.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Sciarrino on Friday told the Post he followed state law when releasing Jeudy, noting that "you can't set bail on someone” who “is a not flight risk.”

The judge — a Republican with more than 18 months left on his mayoral appointment — then retired Friday to Florida, the paper said, adding that a court spokesperson said Sciarrino filed his retirement papers in January and insisted the move south “has nothing to do with the bail decision in this case.”

Councilman Robert Holden — a moderate Queens Democrat in favor of tougher bail laws — told the Post he's glad Sciarrino is headed out of New York: "Good riddance to this soft-on-crime judge! We need judges with the backbone to put bad guys behind bars, not ones that let out the entire world and then flee to Florida, where the laws are tougher.”

Prior to the brutal punch Pichardo endured in March, Jeudy was arrested seven times on assault charges, WABC-TV reported. A previous Post story, citing police, said one of those priors took place in 2018 when Jeudy was charged with second-degree assault for an attack on a cop. The paper, citing sources, added that Jeudy also was collared for punching a security guard in 2019.

The Post reported that Jeudy was charged with misdemeanor assault in both cases, but prosecutors said the charges were later dismissed because Jeudy — with an apparent history of schizophrenia — was declared unfit to stand trial.

What else?

The attack against Pichardo came in the wake of a Blaze News report about multiple women saying they were randomly punched in the face and head on New York City streets.

Pichardo told WABC the suspect randomly punched her in the face around 5 p.m. March 26 while she was walking down Grand Avenue near Dean Street in Brooklyn.

“He just punched me on the right side here, very strong,” Pichardo told WPIX-TV, adding, “I was surprised. I said, ‘What’s going on? Why did you hit me? Why did you do it?’ I didn’t do anything. No reason to hit me."

Image source: WABC-TV video screenshot

She told WPIX her attacker never said a word.

WABC reported that Pichard's face was fractured in several places, her mouth was wired shut, and she was scheduled to drink food from a straw for six weeks. WABC added that Pichardo sustained permanent damage to her lower lip, three of her teeth were knocked out, and surgery might be necessary.

WABC said Pichardo is a school bus aide and was returning from work — just steps from home — when the attacker punched her.

More from WABC:

Her brother owns a restaurant across the street from where she lives. He and an employee chased the suspect down.

Yohan Flores says the suspect was standing cold and emotionless when they confronted him. The suspect denied attacking Pichardo.

Pichardo's brother and the employee followed the suspect for several blocks and stopped him from fleeing until police arrived.

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