LONG ISLAND WOMAN AND HER BOYFRIEND CHARGED WITH ABANDONING 6-YEAR-OLD GIRL ON QUEENS STREET

Child Found Carrying Her Belongings in a Bag in Laurelton Neighborhood; Biological Father Lived Nearby; Defendants Face Up to 1 1/3 to 4 Years in Prison if Convicted

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that a
29-year-old Patchogue woman and her 28-year-old boyfriend have been
charged with abandonment of a child and other crimes for allegedly
leaving the little girl alone on 140th Avenue near Springfield Boulevard
in Laurelton, Queens Monday morning.

        District Attorney Katz said, “This mother is alleged to have
abandoned her terrified youngster on a street corner with her clothes in
a plastic bag and no regard for the child’s safety or well-being. The
defendant’s boyfriend allegedly participated in the crime and had
complained about her ‘crying like a little b*tch.’ Thankfully, a
good Samaritan found the youngster and took her to two school safety
agents.”

        The District Attorney’s Office identified the defendants as
Patrice Chambers, 29, and Mark Pamphile, 28, both of Patchogue in
Suffolk County, Long Island. The defendants were arraigned last night
before Queens Criminal Court Judge Jeffrey Gershuny on a complaint
charging them with abandonment of a child, reckless endangerment in the
second degree and endangering the welfare of a child. The pair was
released on their own recognizance. Judge Gershuny ordered Chambers and
Pamphile to return to court on August 21, 2020. If convicted, the
defendants face up to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison.

        According to the charges, said District Attorney Katz, just
before 11:30 a.m. on Monday, May 18, 2020, defendant Chambers, with
Pamphile in the passenger seat, stopped her white vehicle near the
intersection of 140th Avenue and Springfield Boulevard and ordered her
little girl out of the car. The  child’s belongings in plastic bags
were thrown out of the car and the mother allegedly left the youngster
there. Chambers’ white vehicle was observed on video surveillance
stopped at that intersection and the girl can be seen exiting the car
and the bags tossed out. The video images allegedly show the woman
driving away and the little girl running in the street picking up her
clothes.

Continuing, the DA said, according to the complaint, the girl was found
not too far from where her biological father lives. Defendant Pamphile
allegedly had previously left voicemail messages on the victim’s
dad’s phone threatening to abandon the girl if he didn’t pay the
defendant. Pamphile also allegedly stated in a previous message that the
girl now had no place to sleep and that “she was crying like a little
b*tch.”

Continuing, according to the charges, the child was found by an
eyewitness shortly after the car left the neighborhood. The stranger
took the girl to school safety agents in a nearby park, who notified
police. The child is now in the custody of child protective services.

The investigation was conducted by Detective Michael Rotanz of the New
York City Police Department’s 113th Precinct.

        Assistant District Attorney Kasey Parente of the District
Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau, will be prosecuting the case under
the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Eric Rosenbaum, Bureau
Chief, Debra Lynn Pomodore, Deputy Bureau Chief, and under the overall
supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes
Daniel A. Saunders.

        It should be noted that a criminal complaint is merely an
accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Press Release.