PROSPECT HEIGHTS — A man has been charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime for the vandalism of a statue outside Holy Family Catholic Church in Fresh Meadows on June 30, the Queens District Attorney’s Office announced on July 12.
Jamshaid Choudhry, 44, was also charged with several other related crimes for the attack, in which the head of the statue of the child Jesus was knocked off, and adjoining statues of Mary and Joseph were also desecrated.
“We will not tolerate unprovoked attacks, especially those driven by hate,” District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. “Queens stands as a beacon of diversity and inclusivity, where freedom of religion and expression are celebrated as fundamental pillars of our democracy.”
Choudhry was arrested on July 11 and charged the following day. If convicted, he faces five to 15 years in prison. He is set to return to court on Aug. 1.
Holy Family pastor Father Sean Suckiel told The Tablet that the incident, which took place around 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 30, left the community in shock.
The statue has stood for 42 years and is considered “the outside face of Holy Family Church,” Father Suckiel told The Tablet. He noted that the statue of the Holy Family has been the backdrop for photos following baptisms, weddings, first Communions, and other occasions. The District Attorney’s Office estimated the damages to the statues at $3,000.
Father Suckiel said the head of the child Jesus was recovered and added that the church would do everything it could to repair the statue.
“If we can repair it, we’ll repair it because it’s an important statue to us,” he said.
Police investigators said images taken by a video surveillance camera showed Choudhry exiting a yellow cab parked across the street from the church, running up to the statue, taking off a shoe, then spitting and hitting the statue with the shoe.
The attack was the second time in 15 months that Holy Family Church has been the target of vandals. Teenagers destroyed a statue of an angel outside the church in an attack on March 23, 2023
