QUEENS — A former Elmhurst Hospital technician on the lam for more than six years after allegedly sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl in Astoria Park faced a Queens judge Friday after being picked up in the Netherlands.
Peter Belegrinos, 30, was arrested at Amsterdam's Schicpol Airport in February 2011 after used his his name popped up in database for people with arrest warrants and he has been fighting extradition since.
The suspect, who lived in Astoria, approached three children — a boy and a girl both 9-years-old, and a 12-year-old girl — in the park on Aug. 8, 2005.
He asked if the children wanted to play a "kissing game," and when the kids ran away he chased after them, grabbing the younger girl by the leg, punching her on the side of the head and sexually abusing her, office of Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
“We have waited more than six years for the defendant to once again face justice," Brown said in a statement. "That long, overdue day has finally arrived.”
After allegedly assaulting the child, Belegrinos was stopped by an adult passerby, who detained him and called 911.
The alleged abuser was arraigned on Aug. 9, 2005, and released on $50,000 bail.
He then failed to appear at a court appearance on Jan. 23, 2006 and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
