Harold Latour, a veteran New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) employee, has been arrested for allegedly exposing himself twice to a mother in Queens during “predatory” home visits, authorities announced Thursday.
Latour, a 59-year-old Queens resident and child protection specialist with ACS, was charged with harassment and official misconduct following an internal investigation into a 2021 home visitation, the city’s Department of Investigation (DOI) said.
Latour was placed on modified duty while the agency investigated the complaints. The investigation, which involved the Queens District Attorney’s Office, concluded this week with his arrest and charges against him. Now Latour, whose salary was $64,000 last year, has been suspended without pay. He was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Wednesday and he was released without bail.
“This city child protection specialist used his access to vulnerable families as an opportunity to engage in illegal and sexually inappropriate behavior on more than one occasion,” DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber said in a statement.
“His predatory conduct compromised the difficult and complex work of [ACS] and their colleagues, whose priority is to protect children and families,” said Strauber, quoted by New York Post.
Latour, who joined the agency in 2011, is accused of wearing basketball shorts with no underwear during welfare visits to a Queens home on Oct. 6 and Nov. 17, 2021, sitting across from the mother. of the child and exposing his genitals in the kitchen, detailed Gothamist.
Melinda Katz, the Queens district attorney, described the alleged incidents as a breach of trust. “This defendant was entrusted with ensuring the safety of children and working with families… Unfortunately he violated that trust and is accused of exposing himself not once, but twice during home visits.”
Agency staff are required to make periodic home visits to check on the welfare of children who are under ACS supervision due to previous reports of neglect or abuse. In Latour’s case, the mother reported the two incidents to ACS the day after the second home visit, telling authorities that she felt threatened during the disturbing encounters.
Neither Latour nor his lawyer have commented. All charges are mere accusations and those charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.