After a while...

Favorite guest and conservative journalist and author (The Last Days of New York: a reporter's true tale, https://www.amazon.com/Last-Days-New-York-reporters/dp/1630061875) Seth Barron joins host Pat Dixon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVaivHGF9Vc&t=75s) to discuss New York City politics and review the strange details of a selection of grisly crime stories from NYC's tabloids, including:
Queens Village, Queens - A barber is sentenced to 34 years in prison for raping two girls (16 and 12, in that order). The plot thickens as we discover the NY Daily News claim that the 31-yr-old barber and the older girl were "in a relationship" and that the younger girl wasn't just a rape, it was cheating. The moral implications of this are vast and absurd. Could it be that a inspirational poem could be relevant in the development of this grotesque affair? Is the Belmont Motel Inn a suitable location to stay with your family while visiting The Big Apple? The answers may surprise you.

Central Park, Manhattan - A 17-yr-old male is groped while walking in the Rambles around 10:30pm. The Rambles has been a well-known spot for gay hook-ups for decades (perhaps 100 years), but the victim in this case apparently didn't get the memo and happened to be in the area for solitary nighttime stroll when another male stranger asked him if he was "sexual" before groping the young man's groin above the clothes (aka a "Rambles handshake"). The suspect hasn't been located, but I think we all have a pretty good idea where he can located on summer evenings to come (no pun intended).

Long Island City, Queens - A bizarre caper involving two victims, two perpetrators and two French bulldogs unfolds, in which a cyclist was abducted at gunpoint, forced into a car, beaten and robbed. Allegedly using the suspects phone, the suspects texted the man's friend, who lived nearby, and arranged for him to come and meet the victim.
Upon arrival, the friend was also abducted at gunpoint and beaten and robbed inside the car. The victim's fought back and during the backseat melee a four-way scramble for the gun ensued. The second victim escaped, but without his keys and phone.
Soon after, the suspects allegedly arrived at the second victim's apartment building disguised as food deliverymen, made their way past the doorman and robbed the man's apartment, leaving with $6,000 worth of fancy clothes and both of his French bulldogs.
Although the Daily News makes certain to point out that "the thieves did not know with the dog owner or his friend," it's obviously highly unusual for a random cyclist to be targeted for a gunpoint kidnapping and robbery. It strains credulity to believe these armed robbers, having scored $800 and an iPhone off the first victim, would surmise an opportunity to rob a second victim's nearby apartment, particularly with no knowledge of what (or who) may be waiting for them inside.
Would these armed bandits further make the impromptu decision to disguise themselves as food deliverymen to gain access to an unknown person's apartment, not knowing what (or who) may be there? Once inside, would these opportunistic and thorough robbers - presumably just out stealing from randos - make the spot decision to steal the dogs, presumably to sell them to a yet-to-be-determined third party (forgive the implicit assumption that these heartless armed robbers weren't simply misguided animal-lovers who instantly fell in love with the victim's beloved bulldogs).
There is clearly more to the story, and the NY Daily News coverage of this incident provides yet another classic example of the disingenuous crime journalism that leaves readers scratching their heads, and makes NYC Crime Report with Pat Dixon vital to those who wish to understand and appreciate what's actually happening in these sorts of stories.

In all three of these stories, we see an interesting phenomenon. Just as interest in true crime continues to peak, mainstream news has abdicated its responsibility to inform readers with a complete accounting of the facts. Why?
Two reasons. One is to present clear victim-perpetrator narratives. By glossing over, covering up or simply leaving out certain facts, the coverage leaves us with simple conclusions. As unlikely as it is that these robberies were completely random, the editors have determined it's better to spare readers the complicated emotional process of correctly gauging our level of empathy for the victims by obscuring and even denying any connection between them and their attackers. Certainly the perceived necessity of pointing out "The thieves did not know either the dog owner or his friend," indicates that readers would be likely to question whether this was the case. The facts of the story strong suggest the opposite.
The second reason builds upon the first. The necessity for clear victim-perpetrator narratives is connected to the need to eliminate any and all responsibility on the part of the victims. Was the 17-yr-old Central Park groping victim putting himself intentionally into an environment which contained the distinct possibility (if not likelihood) for a sexually-charged homo experience? Were the cyclist and his dog-loving friend acquainted on some gay level with their attackers, and fooled into a gunpoint robbery through some anticipation of a tryst? We can only speculate, I guess. They don't want us to know.
Curiously, the first story grants "relationship" status to what is also described as the ongoing rape of a 16-yr-old girl by a 31-yr-old man. The "relationship" was entered into after the initial rape which was followed by repeated apologies. A year later, after they had "broken up," he convinced her to get into his car to discuss their "relationship." [quotes added by me].
It's difficult not to presume some form of (admittedly unlawful) consent on the part of the victim. The crime of rape isn't softened by the word "statutory" at any point, and I'm not suggesting that it necessarily should be. What's interesting is that while preserving the emotional impact of the simple term "rape," the Daily News has no issue emphasizing the legitimacy of the "relationship" and calling her apparent escape from the terrifying situation a "break up." To whit, victims do not "break up" with rapists.
I'll let you determine the editors motives in using these terms and presenting this story in this strange way. Feel free to discuss in the comments or send your theories, thoughts and ideas about any aspect of this program to PatDixonNyc@gmail.com.

Thanks to Douglas Nelson for NY POST STORIES, the animated crime story that opens the show. Follow Doug @MrNailsin

QUEENS BARBER SENTENCED
https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/06/06/queens-barber-sentenced-raping-two-underage-girls/

TEEN GROPED IN CENTRAL PARK
https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/06/06/teen-groped-central-park-sexual/

QUEENS DOGS STOLEN AFTER BIZARRE BOTCHED ROBBERY
https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/06/06/queens-dogs-stolen-bizarre-botched-robbery/

for many wild back episodes of NYC Crime Report and Late AF with Pat Dixon and Douglas Nelson
https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/06/06/queens-dogs-stolen-bizarre-botched-robbery/

Jun 07th, 2025