By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — Two Manhattan men were convicted Wednesday of sexually abusing children, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. announced.
One, a former Morningside Heights babysitter, pleaded guilty Wednesday to having child pornography on his computer. The other, a Washington Heights man, was sentenced to 15 years to life for abusing an 8-year-old girl.
Richard Figueroa, 24, admitted he had "several hundred" explicit videos on his computer and was promised a sentence of three to nine years in prison, prosecutors said. A separate case against Figueroa, where he's accused of groping a 5-year-old boy in his care, is still open but on hold because the young victim has been unable to testify, prosecutors said in May when Figueroa was charged in the pornography case.
Cesar Zuniga, 30, was sentenced to 15 years to life for molesting an 8-year-old girl in Washington Heights over a period of six months.
"This is a tough and appropriate sentence for someone who continuously preyed on a helpless victim," Vance said about Zuinga's bench trial conviction. "Because of the courage of a young girl who came forward and reported this crime, a sex offender will be behind bars for a very long time."
