By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A father acting as a chaperone for a fifth- grade class trip from Stamford, Conn. molested six of his son's classmates while drinking booze from a water bottle, prosecutors said Tuesday at his arraignment.
It took 12 police officers to arrest a belligerent and combative Tomas Manzano, 35, on a double-decker school bus parked in front of the restaurant Mars 2112 in Times Square. The group had stopped to eat after visiting the Bronx Zoo while on a tour of the city.
Manzano is accused of touching children in their "private" areas, on their thighs and caressing their faces while drunk.
He faces charges of sexual abuse, endangering the welfare of a child and resisting arrest.
"You're so pretty, you should date my son so I can see you more," he allegedly told one young girl.
Manzano was pulled off the bus and arrested, then brought to Bellevue hospital.
"This is a case where the defendant molested multiple children, in public, in front of multiple witnesses," said Assistant District Attorney Lawrence Newman.
"When a teacher saw [Manzano] touching the children he repeatedly asked [Manzano] to stop and move away," Newman said. "[Manzano] became belligerent and the police were called."
Mazano's tearful wife, son and other family members were in the courtroom to support him Wednesday.
His lawyer, Paul Petrus, said he believes the events were misconstrued.
When adults drink in front of children "rumors and innuendos begin to surface," Petrus said.
Petrus said Manzano is a family man with no criminal record, who worked as a snowboarding instructor over the winter after losing his support job at a law firm last year.
He was held on a $200,000 bond or $100,000 cash bail.
