Teen pleads to role in torture case
"It is our theory that as revenge . . . suspect James Richard . . .
wanted to humiliate the victim in the case. And he wanted to do so in
the presence of other people."
Peter Torncello
Albany County assistant district attorney
By LAURA SUCHOWOLEC
Gazette Reporter
ALBANY - One of the suspects in a brutal gang torture case pleaded
guilty to one charge this week and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors
in the case against her co-defendants.
Jennifer Santiago admitted she participated in the Nov. 29 attack in
which a 19-year-old woman was shot with a BB gun, burned with a
cigarette, and forced to perform sex acts on a another female and a dog.
Santiago, 17, pleaded guilty to one count of coercion Monday in Albany
City Court. Under terms of her plea agreement, she will be sentenced to
time served
in jail and three years of probation.
And prosecutors Wednesday released new details on the motive for the
six-hour torture session in which five people have been charged and a
sixth is wanted.
Prosecutors gave the following account:
The victim had been feuding with the sixth suspect, her ex-boyfriend,
identified by authorities as James Richard of Albany, for some time
before he and another man forced her into a basement at 394 Elk. St.
In the most recent event in their ongoing quarrel, the victim had
fliers printed up with Richard's name and photograph on it. The woman
hung several of the fliers - which said that Richard and another woman
had AIDS - on telephone poles in the Arbor Hill neighborhood.
"It is our theory that as revenge for this, the suspect James Richard
was thinking that he was embarrassed and he wanted to humiliate the
victim in the case," said Assistant District Attorney Peter Torncello.
"And he wanted to do so in the presence of other people."
So, according to the prosecution's version of events, Richard called
some of his friends and told them he was going to make the victim have
sex with another woman. He told his friends - who have all been charged
in the torture session - to bring video recorders and cameras so they
could record the event.
Several of them did bring cameras and one suspect
brought a video recorder which they took turns using to tape the
torture session, prosecutors said.
"One of the things that was told to the victim at the conclusion of her
torture was that if she ever did anything like print up the fliers
again, they would release the photos and they would put the videotape
all over the Internet," Torncello said.
Santiago, who lived at the house where the victim was tortured, did
take part in the event but she was not one of the ringleaders,
prosecutors said.
"She participated but to a much lesser extent than the other
individuals," Torncello said. "There are different levels of
culpability for all of the people who were involved and the plea and
the proposed sentence for Ms. Santiago is appropriate for her actions."
Santiago was released from the Albany County Jail on Monday after she
pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree coercion and agreed to
cooperate with authorities, according to Albany attorney Joseph F.
Donnelly, who represents her.
Also on Wednesday, another suspect in the case was arraigned in Albany
County Court. Taurean Holland, 20, was one of the three people indicted
on Friday. He is charged with kidnapping and other crimes that could
put him behind bars for up to 60 years.
Holland pleaded innocent to the charges Wednesday before Albany County
Court Judge Thomas A. Breslin and was sent to the Albany County Jail without bail.
Also indicted were Shameeka Lewis, 17, of Albany, who was dating
Richard before he vanished, and 27-year-old Eric Bright of Albany.
Lewis pleaded innocent to assault and other charges while Bright
pleaded innocent to coercion charges.