QUEENS — Two teens who were arrested last week for allegedly trying to abduct young girls in southeast Queens will be prosecuted as youthful offenders, the Queens District Attorney’s office said.
Andrew Ghulam, 16, and Joshua Wright, 17, are too old to be prosecuted in family court which handles cases of juveniles under 16 years of age, according to the DA's office.
Ghulam and Wright have no prior arrests and as a result are eligible for “mandatory youthful offender status,” the DA’s office said.
The status, which can be granted to teens who are at least 16and less than 19 years old, is meant to protect the teens from having a criminal record, according to the New York State Courts website.
Their cases have been sealed and the teens’ criminal complaints, charges and status of their cases are not available, according to the DA’s office.
The teens were arrested in connection with two incidents that occurred on April 30.
In both incidents, the teens followed young girls in their car, police said.
During the first incident which took place near 111th Avenue and 208th Street in Queens Village, Wright, who was the passenger in the car and was wearing a mask, got out of the vehicle and tried to talk to an 11-year-old girl, police said.
The girl managed to escape and the suspects drove away, police said.
Shortly after that, the teens allegedly tried to abduct three girls who were walking together near the intersection of 113th Avenue and 196th Street in Hollis.
The girls — a 10-year-old and two 11-year-olds — ran away and hid behind a parked car until the suspects drove away, police said.
In that incident, authorities said, Ghulam allegedly handed a firearm to Wright, who then covered his face with a mask before getting out of the car.
The NYPD arrested them the following day and held them for attempted unlawful imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal possession of a weapon and harassment charges.
It was not clear if Ghulam and Wright were charged with the same offenses in Queens criminal court.
Their lawyers could not be immediately reached for comment.
