THE BRONX — A counselor at a city-run juvenile center choked and punched a boy in his charge after the teenager did not end a phone call quickly enough, city officials said.
Rafael Pasols, 47, was arrested Monday, a month after the attack, and charged with strangulation, assault, criminal obstruction of breathing, menacing and harassment, Bronx prosecutors and the Administration for Children's Services said.
Pasols grabbed and squeezed the neck of the 17-year-old resident at the Horizon Juvenile Center, 560 Brook Ave., about 12:10 a.m. Nov. 8 after the teen refused to get off the phone.
The counselor then took a handful of the teen's hair, pulled him to the floor then slug him twice in the face, prosecutors said.
The teen was treated at a Bronx hospital after suffering a seizure and substaintial face and neck pain, prosecutors said.
Pasols was released on $2,500 bail later Monday, according to prosecutors. He could not be reached for comment and it was unclear who was representing him in the case.
He's due back in court on Feb. 2.
ACS was limiting Pasols' contact with young people in the agency's care and had also launched an internal investigation, officials said.
"We take allegations of violence very seriously and are investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident and will impliment a disciplinary response if necessary," said ACS spokesman Christopher McKniff.
