Woodmere paramedic 'inappropriately' touched boy, 13, Nassau police say

A Woodmere man was arrested Thursday and charged with sexual abuse after, police said, he "inappropriately touched" a 13-year-old boy last month while working as a volunteer paramedic for the Woodmere Fire Department.

Nassau County police said Judah Karkowsky, 41, was arrested at his home at 6:20 p.m. Thursday and charged with second-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.

Karkowsky's attorney, Michael Soshnick of Mineola, said his client was released without bail at his arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead on Friday.

"My client is not only presumed to be innocent, he is innocent," Soshnick said. "I anticipate that in the fullness of time he will be completely exonerated."

Police said the incident occurred on Aug. 28 about 3 p.m. when Karkowsky, in his role as a volunteer paramedic, inappropriately touched the boy.

Police said that the incident involved emergency responders answering a call for four children trapped in an elevator at a building in Cedarhurst and said the alleged inappropriate act occurred after the children had been freed, and Karkowsky was alone with the boy.

Additional information has been withheld, police said, because police officers were not involved in the initial call, and because the investigation is ongoing and the teen is the victim of an alleged sex act.

A call to the Woodmere Fire Department seeking comment was not immediately returned Friday.

Police said the case is being investigated by Special Victims Squad detectives, who are asking anyone with information about that case or who believes they may have been a victim of a similar incident to call 911, Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS or the Special Victims Squad at 516-573-4022. All calls will remain confidential. With Keldy Ortiz

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”