Man Arrested for Lewd Behavior at Greenacres School

No one knows how Jesus Alfaya found his way to the Greenacres School playground or why he paid repeated visits to the school.  Though anyone can easily walk into the park, residents consider it a neighborhood playground and generally assume it is a safe haven for their children. At least they did until Tuesday afternoon 10/25 when a neighborhood mom saw a man, later identified as Jesus Alfaya, sitting on a bench in the playground exposing himself and masturbating.  She called police after she saw Alfaya pull his pants down, sit on a bench and go at it.

At the time soccer practice was going on at the field and there were just a few kids in the playground. Fortunately an alert mom managed to clear the children from the playground before police arrived.  Officer Gaudio found the suspect in the park and when he questioned the man, Alfaya was very slow to respond. His eyes were red and bloodshot and he was evasive, refusing to even give his name. After three tries, he said his name was Jospeh Hernandez, date of birth 3/17/85, but failed to provide an address. Since he was so hesitant, the officer threatened to arrest him for impersonation if he would not give his real identity.

He was placed under arrest and a search revealed his wallet which identified him as Jesus Alfaya of Yonkers, date of birth, 2/12/85.  However Alfaya said he no longer lived in Yonkers and provided 381 Irving Avenue, Portchester as his address.

Turns out Alfaya had been at Greenacres before. One witness, Francesca Erigo of White Plains said that she had seen Alfaya at the park last week, smoking something that smelled like marijuana.

At Police headquarters Alfaya was charged with Public Lewdness and Exposure of Private Parts in a Public Place as well as False Impersonation as a result of giving police a fictitious name. He was booked, processed and brought to Village Hall to appear before Jude Galloway who set bail at $1,000 and sent him to Westchester County Jail.  A police search revealed that Alfaya is not a sex offender and has no prior record.

Lieutenent Altizio spoke to the Greenacres School Principal as well as a representative from the neighborhood association.  According to Altizio,  “It appears to be an isolated incident, although we are investigating to see if the subject was involved in any other incidents in the area.”

Altizio was puzzled that police were not called earlier when Alfaya was acting strangely in the park. He encourages everyone to be vigilant and to feel comfortable calling the police if they see any suspicious behavior.

The incident shocked Greenacres parents who quickly disseminated details of the event to friends around town via email.  School Principal Gerry Young sent an email to Greenacres parents to let them know that teachers and aides will be on heightened alert and asked parents to talk to their children about staying safe in unusual situations.

Why here? Greenacres School's close proximity to White Plains and the Route 22 busline leaves it more vulnerable to big city problems than some of the other elementary schools and perhaps residents have been lulled into a sense of complacency. Whatever the reasons, this incident is a wake-up call and warrants increased vigilance from parents, caregivers, educators and the Greenacres community.