Yonkers man who punched, stomped Asian woman in horrific hate crime gets 17 years in prison
NEW YORK - The Yonkers man seen in a horrific video punching and stomping a 67-year-old Asian woman over 125 times earlier this year has been sentenced to over 17 years in jail over the attack.
Tammel Esco, 42, has been sentenced to 17 and a half years in state prison for the violent attack.
"Today we close a chapter on one of the most vicious and shocking hate crimes we’ve seen in Westchester County," said Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah. "This is a case that has traumatized not only the victim and her family, but also her neighbors, the Westchester community, and the broader Asian American and Pacific Islander community. As Westchester DA, I remain unequivocally committed to seeking justice for victims of violent crime and fighting hate in all forms."
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According to authorities, Esco was in front of the victim's building at around 6 p.m. on March 11 and called her an "Asian bitch" just as she entered the building's vestibule.
The woman ignored Esco, but he approached her from behind and punched her in the head, knocking her to the floor.
The horrifying attack was caught on the building's surveillance cameras and shows Esco standing over her and repeatedly punching her in the head and face more than 125 times before stomping on her seven times and spitting on her.
Esco was arrested the same day and has been held without bail since.
The victim sustained bleeding on the brain, multiple facial fractures, and bruising and lacerations to her head and face as a result of the attack.
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"Tammel Esco brutally assaulted an innocent victim in a hate-filled attack; he will now spend the next seventeen years of his life in prison as a consequence of his actions. I only hope the victim and her family can find some degree of peace now that justice has been served," said Yonkers Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza.
The victim appeared in court on Wednesday to read her impact statement as Esco was sentenced.
"Because of the viciousness and hate of Tammel Esco, I lost the place I called home for over 24 years, the place where I raised my daughters, and my longtime neighbors... As the attack happened, all I could think was, ‘Please Lord let me live, please Lord my daughters need me.’ A complete stranger heartlessly spit, beat and kicked me over 100 times just because of my heritage... My only hope is that God and the criminal justice system will see fit to make sure this never happens to any other innocent family again,'" she said.