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According to Janet DiFiore, district attorney, the karate instructor was arrested in January after adults reported to Croton Police that he was seen taking girls into the corner of the karate studio, with his hips moving in a gyrating motion.
DeMaria, 67, of 83 Van Cortlandt Ave. in Ossining, was arraigned on three counts of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the Second Degree, a class “D” violent felony, two counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, also a class “D” violent felony, and four counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a class “A” misdemeanor.
The defendant is an “internationally known grand master instructor,” who owned and operated a karate school in Croton, near Dobbs Park, DiFiore said. The incidents allegedly involved DeMaria's students November of 2009 and January of 2011, when DeMaria was arrested.
According to the DiFiore, female victims told investigators that the defendant told them to touch his genitals, on more than one occasion. DeMaria’s next court date will take place on September 6, 2011, and his bail is set at $50,000.
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