The two Staten Island children facing felony hate crime charges aren't getting any special treatment because of their age. Daramy Osman, the 11-year-old boy who was the first to get collared, has been kept in a juvenile detention facility since last Wednesday. On Friday night, his alleged accomplice, 13-year-old Krista Callender, was also arrested, and although she was initially released into the custody of her mother, yesterday a judge decided the girl was too dangerous to be on the loose. "Based on [Callender's] history, I do believe she is capable of committing another crime," Judge Helene Sacco ruled in Staten Island Family Court yesterday.
Yesterday the two were arraigned on charges of attempted second-degree robbery; third-degree assault as a hate crime, and related offenses. Prosecutors say that for months they tormented a 12-year-old Muslim classmate, and on more than one occasion tried to rip off her religious scarf. The bullying allegedly culminated last week when Osman and Callender shoved her to the ground, punched her, kicked her, and tried to pull off her hijab while asking, "Are you a Muslim?" In interviews after the attack, the girl said Callender previously forced her to hand over cash and her cellphone, and that now she lives in fear.
Callender and Daramy could face up to 18 months in a juvenile detention facility. (Callender also has a pending case for allegedly robbing and assaulting a pizza delivery man.) As he arrived for his first court appearance last week, a NY Post photographer got a shot of Daramy giving him the finger. Today the Post proudly reports, "A few days in juvenile lockup was all tiny troublemaker Osman Daramy needed for a full attitude adjustment, as he meekly walked into Staten Island Family Court yesterday." The article's headline? "Bye, bye 'birdie': 'Hate' kid keeps finger to himself."
