Penfield, N.Y. – 49 year old Anthony Parri is charged with sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.
He is accused of inappropriately touching children's feet in the Penfield Library, according to police. There were two separate incidents Tuesday afternoon.
Parri, 49, was arraigned Tuesday night. He is in jail without bail. He told police he was homeless and living at the Red Roof Inn on West Henrietta Road. A manager there said she didn't recognize Parri and didn't believe he was, in fact, staying there.
We learned today that Parri is known to police here and has a violent past.
He served time in state prison twice, for violent crimes. In 1988, he was convicted of robbing and shooting a man inside an ice cream store in Manhattan. Parri told the Parole Board he needed money to feed his cocaine habit.
He also spent time in a Psychiatric Hospital for trying to hurt himself and served time in state prison for First Degree Assault. Parri was paroled in 2004.
According to court documents in this local case, Parri removed a child's shoe, fondled her foot and pressed it up against his nose and mouth.
Penfield's Library Director Bernadette Brickman says one of the incidents happened in an open area in the children's section of the library. The child's mother and an employee both witnessed the alleged actions and employees called police.
Parri was arrested outside of the library.
A second six year old girl also came forward to tell authorities she was also a victim.
Parri claimed outside of court that he was set up. After his arraignment, Parri was denied bail.
This case is similar to five others at bookstores and libraries in Pittsford and Brighton. In each of the incidents, the man allegedly approached the girls between the ages of five and ten, and licked the girls' feet.
Police say Parri is not the same man seen in a surveillance photo previously released. Investigators identified that man and later cleared him of any wrongdoing after interviewing both him and the victims.
Police are now investigating whether Parri is connected to those cases.
