The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force has rounded up the alleged accomplice to the alleged juvenile hijab-ripper on Staten Island. Krystal Callender, 13, was collared on Friday night and slapped with the same charges that 12-year-old Osman Daramy faces: felony assault as a hate crime and aggravated harassment as a hate crime. The two are accused of shoving a female classmate to the ground, punching her, kicking her, and trying to pull off her hijab while asking, "Are you a Muslim?" (She is, but Daramy's dad says his son is also Muslim, and therefore it can't be a hate crime.)
Krystal does sound like a handful: Sources tell the Post she was suspended from school for stealing $70 from a teacher’s purse in November, and was also involved in the robbery of a pizza deliveryman outside the school. Administrators at Dreyfus Intermediate say last week's attack on the unidentified Muslim girl was the culmination of months of abuse (which doesn't really say much about the school's ability to intervene against bullying). During one encounter, Krystal allegedly threatened to stab the girl if she didn't hand over her cell phone and all her money.
She was arraigned Saturday in Family Court and released into the custody of her mother. Daramy was not so lucky; he's being held by the Administration for Children’s Services Division for Youth and Family Justice. He could face up to 18 months in a juvenile facility if found guilty, and whenever he gets out his father has vowed to send him back to Sierra Leone, where his life began in a refugee camp. Sad enough for ya'?
